ACCREDITATION
 

In support of improving patient care, Children's Minnesota is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

 

MISSION AND VISION

We are committed to improving children’s health through delivery of state-of-the-art information, education of our clinicians and interprofessional teams, and authentic evaluation of our practices.  Our activities are designed intentionally by the team, for the team, and strategically aligned to enhance the knowledge, competence and performance of healthcare professionals. By advancing evidence-based practice and emerging trends in pediatric healthcare, we champion Children’s Minnesota vision of being every family’s essential partner in raising healthier children. 

Values: 

Kids first:  We channel the spirit of kids to bring optimism, resiliency, and endless possibility to our daily work; we have the curiosity and courage to advance health equity.   

Listen, really listen: Each person has a story to tell and we value those stories in our educational activities. We listen with compassion, ask meaningful questions and build trusting relationships with internal and external partners.   

Own outcomes: We learn and improve through surveying event participants to determine how they have changed their behavior and practice. We evaluate if these actions improved patient outcomes and use evaluation information and feedback to continually improve our program. 

Join together: We communicate often and clearly to our audience and other planners inside or outside of the organization. We collaborate on and support educational efforts for professional staff at Children’s and in our community.   

Be remarkable: We strive to find technological advances and creative delivery strategies for education.  As a team, we participate in professional development and community outreach. We strive to go beyond what is expected because we have higher standards; we love our work and we let it show. 

ROLES, RESPONSIBILITIES, AND PATIENT CARE ACTIVITIES OF GME PARTICIPANTS

Graduate medical education (GME) program participants—residents and fellows—are physicians in training who hold dual roles as caregivers and trainees. Their responsibilities are guided by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and are designed to provide safe, effective, and compassionate patient care while fostering professional autonomy and competence.

Core Responsibilities

  • Patient Care: Providing care that is safe, effective, and compassionate under faculty supervision, with increasing responsibility based on experience (graded authority).

  • Safety and Ethics: Adhering to institutional policies, ensuring patient safety, reporting errors or "near-miss" events, and practicing high-quality, cost-effective care.

  • Education and Scholarship: Participating in required conferences, seminars, and scholarly activities (e.g., research, quality improvement projects).

  • Professional Development: Maintaining personal health and alertness to ensure safety, and fostering teamwork with interprofessional teams.

  • Supervision: While supervised themselves, senior residents and fellows are responsible for teaching and mentoring junior residents and medical students.

Patient Care Activities

  • Initial and Ongoing Assessment: Performing history and physical examinations, developing diagnostic and treatment plans, and updating notes (admission, progress, and discharge summaries).

  • Clinical Duties: Conducting daily rounds, writing orders for medications and diagnostic tests, interpreting results, and providing patient counseling.

  • Procedures: Performing diagnostic and therapeutic procedures within their training scope and authorized clinical privileges.

  • Care Coordination: Managing transitions of care, arranging follow-up, and communicating with patients and families about care plans.

Key Distinctions in Roles

  • Interns (PGY-1): Focus on developing fundamental skills under close supervision.

  • Residents (PGY-2+): Assume greater autonomy, manage complex patients, and start supervising junior team members.

  • Fellows: Subspecialty trainees who work with high autonomy but continue to operate within their specialty training requirements.

  • Chief Residents: Serve in a leadership role, helping to schedule, mentor, and represent trainees.

Supervision Structure

A licensed independent practitioner (faculty) is responsible for the care of each patient, ensuring that residents/fellows work within their competence level. Supervision includes direct, indirect, and oversight, adapting to the trainee's skill level. 

OUR TEAM

Kade Goepferd, MD, FAAP, Chief Education Officer
Corinne Wilcox-Schowalter, Director of Education Operations
Mary Grimm, IPCE Coordinator
Kim Honcharenko RN, CHCP, IPCE Education Specialist
Ilze Vogel, Health Professional Education Outreach Coordinator