Over the last few years, paediatrics at Vall d’Hebron has been residents’ first choice, and in the 2017 exam session achieved the best results of any Spanish hospital. 

The Department has a Paediatrics Teaching Subcommittee, comprising twelve tutors and twenty residents overseeing the practical application of the training and its integration into healthcare activities. Thanks to the involvement of these professionals, we can ensure supervised completion of the training programme objectives.

This Teaching Unit comprises different healthcare departments and units, including the Paediatrics, Nephrology, Neonatology, Paediatric Oncology and Haematology, Intensive Care, Neurology, Endocrinology, Infectious Diseases, Allergies, Cardiology, Respiratory Medicine, Gastroenterology, and A&E Departments. 

It is vital for residents to train in research methodology as this is necessary to take part in and develop research projects. From the second year onwards, we invite residents to carry out research work, and a minimum number of papers and publications is required in addition to their full cooperation in sessions within the Department.

Why specialise at Vall d’Hebron?

• Because you will work in a hospital that is a direct point of reference for the other hospitals in Catalonia and other autonomous communities.
• Because we have a perinatal unit with advanced technology to treat any pathology.
• Because we treat paediatric patients who require the most advanced medical-surgical technology due to the complexity of their illnesses.
• Because we are equipped to carry out different kinds of surgery, such as cardiac surgery, neurosurgery, kidney transplants; and because our facilities enable us to perform ECMO, extracorporeal cardiac surgery and a whole other range of interventions.
• Because a tutor will provide ongoing supervision during your four years of training.

The intensive care medicine resident doctors undertake training in various areas: emergencies, medical specialities, surgery and, mainly, high-acuity areas, such as the General Intensive Care Unit and the Traumatology and Burns.

Its caring activities are characterised by a constant presence in high-acuity areas, as well as hospital duty shifts throughout the residency. Residents are therefore familiarised with intensive care medicine and acquire the ability to address the problems of critical patients and carry out necessary therapies from the first day of their residencies. They learn the basics of haemodynamics, mechanical ventilation, extracorporeal treatment, the pharmacological management of vasoactive drugs and antibiotics, among other things. Furthermore, they are an essential part of the cardiorespiratory arrest emergency and care team.

The acquisition of the speciality's specific skills is complemented by training in cross-cutting abilities, such as communication, teamwork and leadership, which allows residents to progressively acquire autonomy, always under the supervision of the appropriate specialists.

We are a teaching unit with various research groups, including the Respiratory Pathology, Sepsis, Haemodynamics, Infections, Neurocritical Patients, Renal Medicine, Polytrauma and Burns Group. In the Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), we are represented by the SODIR (Shock, Organic Dysfunction and Resuscitation) Group, which is very active in a wide range of projects and clinical trials. Furthermore, we are part of the UNINN (Neurotraumatology and Neurosurgery Research Unit) and with the Plastic Surgery and Burns group, which are worldwide pioneers in achieving the first full-face transplant and the treatment of burns with enzymatic debridement.

The Department promotes and facilitates the presentation of communications in congresses concerning the speciality and the drafting of articles for the sector's most influential journals, activities which lay the foundations for developing the doctoral theses of their members.

Why practise this speciality at Vall d'Hebron?

• We are one of the Intensive Care Medicine Teaching Units that have a Smart ICU and three monographic ICUs (Post-operative Cardiac Surgery, Polytrauma and Burns) and two semicritical units.
• We are a leading centre for lung transplants, ECMO, spinal cord injuries, burns, oncohematology and serious obstetric pathology. We also have extensive experience with neurocritical patients, with the most advanced neuromonitoring systems.
• From the first day, our residents are always included in all the unit's activities, as it is the first rotation in their training itinerary.
• We develop specific courses for residents, where we include simulation as an essential methodology for their training (technical abilities, diagnostic algorithms and teamwork).
• We are part of the SODIR (Shock, Organic Dysfunction and Resuscitation) research group in the VHIR, which facilitates work with renowned researchers at national and international levels.

We are an active research centre with a high number of publications, at the same time as participating in several national and international programmes. We have also received awards at different conferences in the specialisation. 

The Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation teaching programme includes key aspects for research, such as training in clinical epidemiology and clinical research methodology. In addition, our residents undertake research competence courses to complement their practical work. 

Why specialise at Vall d’Hebron? 

• Because the Rehabilitation Department at the Traumatology and Rehabilitation Hospital has 30 beds, allowing residents to undertake a rotation in Rehabilitation programmes, and carry out highly specialised management and integrated rehabilitation treatment.
• Because you will attend to patients with neurodegenerative illnesses and adults with cerebral palsy in particular.
• Because you will attend interdisciplinary consultations related to neurodegenerative diseases, including those in the Stroke Unit, Neuro Orthopaedics and Neuromuscular Diseases.
• Because you will take an active part in the team and the care team meetings.
• Because we are one of seven hospitals in the country accredited by the Ministry of Health (CSUR accreditation) to care for patients with hereditary ataxia or paraplegia.
• Because you will treat both adults and children with spinal cord injuries of traumatic or non-traumatic origin, and the subsequent complications that may arise.
• Because we offer residents a rotation to treat amputee patients, and training in their ongoing care in the acute pre-prosthetic hospitalization and subsequent rehabilitation training programme.
• Because you will take part in all aspects of injury rehabilitation, pain management and prosthetic prescription evolution analysis.
• Because you will work on prosthetic fitting and manufacture.
• Because you will work both in the hospital wards and with outpatients across the complete spectrum of chronic and acute musculoskeletal pathologies and pain syndromes.
• Because you will assess and treat infant and adult patients with cardiac and chronic respiratory disorders, using respiratory physiotherapy and strength training.
• Because we enable active participation in the infant cardiac and lung transplant rehabilitators programme.
• Because we have an ergometry room to carry out spirometry and lung and heart stress tests to enable us to prescribe quality training programmes.
• Because you will work with neuropaediatricians and infant orthopaedic surgeons on rehabilitation of patients with conditions such as brain lesions, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, scoliosis and hip dysplasia.
• Because you will work with all kinds of speech and language disorders that affect swallowing and communication, such as asphasia, dysarthria, dysphonia, laryngeal paralysis, dysphemia, cochlear implants, dysphagia, language development delays or disorders, diglossia, brain injury scar tissue, and hyperacusis.
• Because you will be an integral part of the communication and swallowing rehabilitation team, using techniques such as clinical audiometry, laryngeal stroboscopy, fibreoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES) and video fluoroscopy.  
• Because  we enable you to attend congresses and take part in conferences on advances in prostheses and orthotics, as well as a biannual course on evidence-based  rehabilitation and medicine, and courses on exercise programmes for pathologies of the musculoskeletal system and electrotherapy.

Paediatric nursing specialists provide independent nursing care to babies, children and adolescents at all levels, as well as dealing with disease prevention and rehabilitation. They work as part of a multidisciplinary team and in collaboration with specialist nursing staff from other areas.

Why Vall d’Hebron?

• Because we are a reference hospital, both in Catalonia and at the national and international levels, with 200 highly specialised paediatric beds and a large team of paediatric nurses who will accompany you throughout your training programme.
• Because we have the capacity to provide specialised care for paediatric patients requiring all kinds of complex surgical interventions (cardiac, neurosurgery, solid organ transplantation, foetal interventions, etc.).
• Because you will be able to do rotations in specialised paediatric units such as EMS, Palliative Care, Primary Care, Burns Unit, Dialysis, Oncohaematology, Haematopoietic Progenitor Transplantation, Complex Chronic Patient Care Units of multiple specialities, etc.
• Because we have a large Neonatal Unit accredited in the NIDCAP model of care as well as a highly specialised Paediatric Intensive Care Unit, and because we are a centre accredited for our commitment to excellence in healthcare.
• Because you will be able to develop your skills in an immersion course at the start of your residency and in various specific paediatric care courses throughout the programme.
• Because you will have access to tutors with a high degree of training and involvement who will accompany you throughout your learning process and ensure that you receive the best possible training and have the opportunity to research and participate in innovative projects.