The Research Training Consortium in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine (RTC-PCCM) represents a consortium of academic PCCM programs devoted to advancing a broad base of Pediatric Critical Care Research by increasing the number of physician-scientists in PCCM. To this end, we are committed to increasing and optimizing the exposure, education, and advocacy of current and future trainees to the physician-scientist model and to academic careers in PCCM.
Annually, the group gets together during the PAS meeting for a half-day session, which includes an informal poster symposium for trainees. All senior trainees (third and fourth year) display a poster of their work, and are expected to give a 3-5-minute presentation followed by discussion. In addition, we have a plenary speaker at each symposium to provide additional mentorship and career advice. Examples include discussions of Career Development Awards and “navigating the NIH”. This half-day session serves as a platform for faculty, trainees, and mentors from the differing institutions to interact and provide external advice to the trainees. In addition, faculty come together to discuss ways to optimize our training programs; to improve our academic junior faculty training and career opportunities, and to facilitate the needed expansion of underrepresented minorities in our field.