Continuity clinic is one of the strengths of the UK program. All pediatric residency programs have required continuity clinics, but style and setup vary from program to program. One afternoon per week, the resident is excused from regular duties to attend continuity clinic. The residents are divided into two groups. Half go to the Family Care Center, an off-site clinic that reaches out to the community by providing daycare, counseling, medical care, and education all in one location. The other half staff an on-site clinic at UK
The usual clinic afternoon begins with a 15 minute PowerPoint presentation prepared by the house staff or faculty that the 3-4 residents discuss informally with their attending. These evidence-based lectures cover practical clinical topics such as Vitamin D supplementation, child travel health, or childhood obesity.
An intern’s patient population begins as the inherited patients from a graduating resident. As the resident meets various families without primary care doctors through the newborn nursery, wards, or even the emergency department, the patients form a bond with the resident. The intern can invite these families to join the continuity clinic, and, in general, these patients will see the same intern for all well-child checks (though unscheduled sick visits may fall to a different continuity clinic or general pediatrics). These families generally welcome the short wait times, wonderful nursing staff, and consistency of the continuity clinic. The intern enjoys the helpful parents and opportunities to request patients of his or her interest. There tends to be a good balance between complicated chronically ill patients and healthy well-child checks.
On the same day of the week for the next three years the same resident and same attending continue with these families. This consistency is a welcome relief during the ever-changing demands of residency. It also allows for strong bonds to form between parents, residents, and attending. It is these friendships that make UK’s continuity clinics such an enjoyable and educational time.
