Thank you for your interest in the Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship here at Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin. We’re excited to share more about our program with you and the unique ways we approach clinical education and scholarship here in Austin.
As a relatively new program, we’ve had the unique opportunity to build an innovative neonatal curriculum which emphasizes interactive, case-based learning with a multidisciplinary approach. To become highly successful neonatologists, we believe our fellows need comprehensive training in a multitude of realms including clinical care, research, quality improvement, interdisciplinary team leadership, global health, advocacy, health care economics, work-life balance, professionalism and ethics. Our program leadership and division faculty are committed to providing an environment that mentors fellows to become well-rounded independent neonatologists with the skill set to become future leaders within our field.
Fellows in our program benefit from a balanced clinical exposure to “bread and butter neonatology” at our Level 3 inborn NICU at Ascension Seton Medical Center of Austin, as well as caring for infants with complex multi-system anomalies and morbidities in our Level 4 surgical NICU at Dell Children’s Medical Center. Fellows also gain clinical experience in our Comprehensive Fetal Care Center and Special Delivery Unit inside Dell Children’s. Given the complexity of infants we care for, our fellows work beside and have scholarly opportunities with a multitude of subspecialized teams such as our bronchopulmonary dysplasia program, neuroNICU program, congenital diaphragmatic hernia team and small baby team. Growth is constant in Austin — in the last year, we doubled our level 4 surgical NICU at Dell Children’s to 56 beds and we are preparing to open a brand new Women and Infants tower with a 86-bed level 3 NICU in 2025.
Our dedicated team of clinicians and researchers model an exceptional level of care and present fellows with a unique range of scholarly opportunity including clinical and basic research, point-of-care ultrasound, biomedical engineering, advocacy, palliative care, ethics, health care administration and practice management. Our program recognizes the equal importance of a wide range of scholarly pursuits and supports fellows through individualized career development with mentorship and coaching.
Our program is located in central Austin, a vibrant, fast-growing city that offers plentiful opportunities to enjoy life outside the hospital equally whether you’re a single young adult or raising a family. We strongly believe that work-life balance is not only achievable but absolutely necessary, especially in a high-pressure specialty such as neonatology. As a team we support each other practically and emotionally to deal with the stresses of the NICU environment. We believe the infants and families under our care deserve to be looked after by a clinical team that is rested, engaged and effective.
If you think Austin and our program sound like a good fit for you, or if you would like to hear more, please contact our program coordinator, Saleha Parvaiz or feel free to contact me directly. We look forward to hearing from you!
Ashley Lucke, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine Fellowship Program Director
Division of Neonatology
Department of Pediatrics