Our Fellows

Medical School: The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University
Residency Program: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Email address: Dr. Keia Faison

What do you love about the fellowship program/Why did you choose this fellowship?

Pediatric urgent/acute care is a rapidly expanding field of medicine. Much of our training in Pediatrics residency consisted of taking care of children with complex and chronic conditions more longitudinally in the hospitalist setting. Pediatric urgent care fellowship has provided me with an opportunity to hone my procedural skills, fill subspecialty knowledge gaps, and improve my efficiency in the acute setting. I have enjoyed this transition/bridge to independent practice. I was given the unique chance to work independently as a new attending alongside experienced PEM and Pediatric Urgent Care providers in a collegial environment, teach and engage with APPs, residents, and student-learners, and at the same time supplement my own learning with weekly didactic sessions, SIM cases, and quality improvement/research projects. There are some very useful elective rotations particularly in pediatric sedation, toxicology, orthopedics, and ultrasound that will better help me serve our children and families. In addition, the mentorship opportunities at Emory/CHOA are invaluable and will broaden career development and networking connections in the field, nurture confidence and encourage accountability, especially as it relates to my career path goals, self-care, and other challenges related to the world of a pediatric medicine.

Medical School: Morehouse School of Medicine
Residency Program: Emory University School of Medicine
Preferred Email address: Dr. NaShayla Davis
 
What do you love about the fellowship program/Why did you choose this fellowship? 

I decided to apply for the urgent care fellowship because I wanted to gain more procedural experience after finished residency, such as with laceration repairs, lumbar punctures, etc. I also liked that this fellowship provided me with more educational experiences with other subspecialties that I did not get to rotate through in residency such as Ophthalmology, ENT, surgery, orthopedics. I enjoyed being able to work with the PEM physicians to obtain more experience managing more complex patients that I would otherwise not have picked up on my own. Overall, I felt that the fellowship provided a valuable experience and helped me become an even more well-rounding urgent care physician capable of managing higher acuity patients in the emergency room, while also providing experience working in outpatient urgent care facilities with less resources.

Medical School: University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine
Residency: Pediatric Residency, Yale New Haven Hospital
Email: Dr. PJ Gonzalez

What do you love about the fellowship program/Why did you choose this fellowship?

What I love most about the program was how supportive everyone in the department is. It is a big hospital so you are constantly meeting new people and networking. As long as you have a vision, the program will do their best to support you and help accomplish your goals. 

For me, Emory was always my number one choice. My family lives in Atlanta and I wanted to be close to them. Also, Atlanta is one of the best cities in the US. The food is amazing!!

Medical School: American University of the Caribbean
Residency Program: East Carolina University/Vidant Medical Center
Email: Dr. Shikha Nigam

What do you love about the fellowship program/Why did you choose this fellowship?

I love that the fellowship allows you to fill in the gaps that you may have had from residency. I felt very comfortable leaving residency taking care of bread and butter pediatrics but there were areas that I wanted to explore further. I have the opportunity to learn more about ultrasound and orthopedics. I am also getting exposed to a different variety of pathology since CHOA sees a very diverse population and pathology. The staff (attendings, nurses, support personnel, PEM fellows) have been great and are always willing to help out. The fellowship is also a great bridge to practice because I function as an attending with seeing patients and also get more teaching opportunities by supervising residents/medical students but still continue to get education on medical care.

Medical School: Medical College of Georgia
Residency: Medical University of South Carolina 
Email: Dr. Katie Gartin

What do you love about the fellowship program/Why did you choose this fellowship? 

The pediatric urgent care fellowship offered by CHOA/Emory is designed to fill in some of the educational and training gaps left following completion of pediatrics residency and empower the fellow to feel comfortable working in a busy emergency room or urgent care setting. There often isn't enough time in residency to take all the electives that interest you or to gain exposure to every subspecialty.  In the emergency room or urgent care setting, anything and everything can come through those doors and you need to be proficient in fracture management, sports medicine, complicated laceration repairs, eye trauma, dental trauma, and a wide variety of procedures. These are all areas in which I didn't feel as comfortable upon leaving residency and wanted to seek out additional training and mentorship. 

As urgent care fellows/junior attendings we work alongside PEM and urgent care attendings at Egleston and Hughes Spalding hospitals and at the satellite CHOA urgent care centers. I have felt well supported by program leadership as well as by all of my wonderful colleagues. It is reassuring to know there are always other people around of whom I can easily ask questions as I navigate a new hospital system and grow in my clinical knowledge and confidence. If you are interested in a future career working in an urgent care or emergency setting, this is a great way to spend a year!

Medical School: Texas Tech Paul L Foster School of Medicine
Residency Program: University of Chicago Medical Center
Email: Dr. Hannah Lee

What do you love about the fellowship program/Why did you choose this fellowship?

I learned how to be a solid hospitalist and general pediatrician during residency. I chose this fellowship to gain additional knowledge and skills to take care of patients in the intermediate setting. Oftentimes, children are not sick enough to be admitted but would take up too many resources in a general pediatrician's fast-paced office. There are many diseases in surgical subspecialties that general pediatricians are expected to manage, but oftentimes we don't have the time during residency to fill in those knowledge gaps. Through the subspecialty and procedure rotations during the fellowship, I have been able to hone my procedural skills to become a more efficient pediatrician for the future. Additionally, by joining the Emory Pediatric Emergency Medicine/Urgent Care group, I have had the opportunity to transition to an attending while having the support of the PEM faculty right next to you when you need them! I'm thankful for the opportunity to be a part of a collegial group of providers who care for each other while also serving the community to provide excellent patient care.

Medical School: University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas
Residency Program: Morehouse School of Medicine
Email: Dr. Vinita Chandwani

What do you love about the fellowship program/Why did you choose this fellowship?

I chose this fellowship because I felt it was a great transition from residency to being an attending. You still get the best of both worlds! While you are working your clinical shifts, you see your own patients, bill for those patients and have all the autonomy; you do not need to staff your patients with anyone but there are plenty of experienced colleagues around for you to ask questions you may have. On the other hand, you get to do rotations in areas where you feel you would like additional training. For example, I felt like I needed more training in the Orthopedics/Sports medicine and fracture management. This fellowship has allowed me to learn from Pediatric Orthopedic and Sports medicine specialists directly while rotating with them in their clinics which I found to be invaluable to my practice.

Medical School: Louisiana State University
Residency Program: University of Alabama

What do you love about the fellowship program/Why did you choose this fellowship?

While residency helped me establish a solid foundation in general pediatrics, I chose this fellowship simply because I wanted to gain additional knowledge and skills specifically as it pertains to taking care of children in the acute / urgent care setting.  The outpatient rotations that take place mainly in surgical subspecialty clinics have been especially helpful in filling knowledge gaps.  Through weekly didactic sessions, common emergency medicine topics are reviewed and discussed.  I’ve also been able to refine my current procedural skill set as well as develop new skills through workshops and dedicated ultrasound and procedural rotations.  Through the support and guidance of the Emory Peds EM faculty and University as a whole, I’ve been offered countless academic opportunities to further my career and education.  Overall, this fellowship has definitely helped me become a better clinician for all the children and families that I have the opportunity to serve each and every day.

Medical School: Medical College of Georgia
Residency Program: Emory University
Email: Dr. Nehal Bhandari

What do you love about the fellowship program/Why did you choose this fellowship?

Post-residency, I knew I wanted to work in urgent care but did not feel prepared enough to work in a high acuity emergency department. This fellowship allowed me to supplement and enrich my residency training. Some of the most useful rotations were the sedation, orthopedics/sports medicine, and procedure blocks. I also loved the weekly fellows conference (didactic lectures + simulations) that I participated in with the PEM fellows.  Now that I am finished with the urgent care fellowship, I feel much more confident working in an academic peds ED. It was a year well spent!