Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship
The Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship Program, established in 1991 at Norton Children’s Hospital is a training program which prepares fellows for a future in pediatric emergency medicine with both an academic and clinical focus. The fellowship training program provides in-depth education and experience in clinical care, teaching, administration, and research. Our fellowship program is available to pediatrics and internal medicine/pediatrics trained applicants, with a three year track for pediatrics trained Residents and a two year track for emergency medicine trained residents.
Norton Children’s Hospital is the region's primary pediatric referral facility. The emergency department evaluates and treats more than 70,000 patients a year. Fellows receive exposure to a large variety of acuity, clinical problems, and diseases. In addition, fellows receive a broad exposure to a large cross section of medical and surgical sub-specialty services.
Through progressive autonomy fellows supervise and teach residents as well as students in the emergency department. Fellows also receive formal instruction in lecture design and teaching methods.
Fellows have the opportunity to further their education through a variety of programs that offer the ability to obtain a certificate or masters. These didactic sessions supplement their research mentoring by faculty. This rich experience provides fellows with a framework for understanding clinical research in addition to the area of focus.
With faculty supervision, fellows are expected to design and execute one or more independent research projects and are encouraged to participate in additional investigations. This independent research project fulfills the required board eligibility for Scholarly Activity.
University of Louisville Pediatric Fellowships
Visit the Pediatric Fellowships webpage to learn more about:
- How to apply for a pediatric fellowship
- Compensation & benefits for pediatric fellows
- Facilities where our fellows see patients, perform research, and learn
- What is it like to live in Louisville, Kentucky?
2-Year Track
Year 1 Curriculum | Duration | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Pediatric Emergency Medicine | 6 months | Norton Children's Hospital |
| PICU | 1 month | Norton Children's Hospital |
| Pediatric Anesthesia | 1 month | Norton Children's Hospital |
| Elective/research | 1 month | Norton Children's Hospital |
| Pediatric Outpatient Clinic | 1 month | Norton Children's Hospital |
| Child Abuse | .5 months | Norton Children's Hospital |
| Pediatric Orthopedics | .5 month | Norton Children's Hospital |
| Pediatric Inpatient Clinic | 1 month | Norton Children's Hospital |
| Year 2 Curriculum | Duration | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Pediatric Emergency Medicine | 7.5 months | Norton Children's Hospital |
| Transport | .5 month | Norton Children's Hospital |
| Research/ Elective | 2 months | Norton Children's Hospital |
| Pediatric Outpatient | 1 month | Norton Children's Hospital |
| NICU | 1 month | Norton Children's Hospital |
3-Year Track
Year 1 Curriculum | Duration | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Pediatric Emergency Medicine | 6 months | Norton Children's Hospital |
| Research | 1.5 months | Norton Children's Hospital |
| PICU | 1 month | Norton Children's Hospital |
| Pediatric Anesthesia | 1 month | Norton Children's Hospital |
| Adult Emergency Medicine | 1 month | University of Louisville Hospital |
| Trauma | 1 months | Norton Children's Hospital |
| Pediatric Orthopedics | .5 month | Norton Children's Hospital |
| Year 2 Curriculum | Duration | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Pediatric Emergency Medicine | 8 months | Norton Children's Hospital |
| Adult Emergency Medicine | 1 month | University of Louisville Hospital |
| Research | 1.5 month | Norton Children's Hospital |
| Toxicology | .5 month | Poison Control Center |
| Child Abuse | .5 month | Norton Children's Hospital |
| Transport | .5 month | Norton Children's Hospital |
| Year 3 Curriculum | Duration | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Research | 9.5 month | Norton Children's Hospital |
| Administration | 1 month | Norton Children's Hospital |
| Adult Emergency Medicine | 1 month | University of Louisville Hospital |
| Toxicology | .5 month | Poison Control Center |
Vacation: four weeks each year
Electives can be taken during research months or as a longitudinal rotation. This can be discussed with the PD.
Electives available:
- Developmental Pediatrics
- Pediatric Surgical Clinic
- Cardiology
- GI
- Pulmonology
- Newborn Nursery
- Pediatric Surgery
- Inpatient
For EM-trained PEM fellows: You are encouraged to maintain “adult” skills by moonlighting in one of the affiliated adult general EDs. In addition, while a research project is not mandatory, it is strongly encouraged, with the understanding it may be smaller in scope secondary to the shorter time in fellowship. We provide the same mentorship and SOC structure for our EM-trained as our peds-trained fellows. You will still complete PEM didactics as well as EBM, Advocacy, QI and Ethics Curricula as it is an 18-month rolling schedule to allow all fellows time to have each lecture (may be off rotation/vacation/away rotation). In addition, will learn the basics of biostats, clinical trials and epidemiology.
As part of the fellowship program, fellows have the opportunity to complete certain Master’s Degree or certificate programs through the University of Louisville Graduate School
Tuition, Fees and Books associated are paid through the division.
General Education Opportunities:
- Completion of the IHI Quality Improvement Curriculum
- Radiology Series; Interactive Didactic Session with Pediatric Radiologist reviewing real cases from the Emergency Department
- Strong Ultrasound Curriculum; includes hands on scanning sessions and didactics with Pediatric Ultrasound Fellowship Trained physicians
- Simulations
- M&M
- ECG Series; reviewing real ECG cases with a Pediatric Cardiology Electrophysiology Attending
- Board Review
- Grand Rounds
- Vascular Lab
- Procedure Lab
Research
During training, fellows will be required to design, conduct, analyze and interpret data from their individual research projects. From this experience, they will have fulfilled the research requirements to sit for the sub-board examination in Pediatric Emergency Medicine.
Fellows are expected to generate a research question during their first year of fellowship, using designated research months to conduct background research and to begin designing their project. During the first or second year of fellowship, fellows are expected to submit their proposal to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) and begin enrolling patients or acquiring data. The curriculum during the third year of fellowship is designed to provide the fellow with ample opportunity to complete their research project and prepare and submit a manuscript for publication.
During each year of fellowship, fellows will meet regularly with the Research Director and the Scholarly Oversight Committee to discuss their project and the project’s current status.
Objectives
By the completion of their training, fellows will be:
- Proficient in critically reviewing research proposals and investigations published in the medical literature related to Pediatric Emergency Medicine
- Eligible for sub-specialty certifying examination
Current Fellows
1st Year Fellow
Ben Lyvers, MD (2026)
Medical School: University of Louisville School of Medicine
Residency: University of Louisville School of Medicine
Jennifer Overfield, MD (2026)
Medical School: University of Louisville
Residency: Vanderbilt University
Ivory Shelton, MD (2026)
Medical School: Wake Forest School of Medicine
Residency: Vanderbilt Pediatric Residency
2nd Year Fellows
Medical School: Nova Southeastern College of Osteopathic Medicine
Residency: St Christophers Hospital for Children
Medical School: University of Connecticut School of Medicine
Residency: Indiana University
Medical School: St Georges University
Residency: University of Louisville
3rd Year Fellows
Medical School: St Georges University, School of Medicine Grenada
Residency: Childrens Hospital of New Jersey at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center (Rutgers University affiliate) , Newark, NJ, Pediatrics
Medical School: Loma Linda University, School of Medicine
Residency: Monroe Carrell Jr Childrens Hospital at Vanderbilt, Nashville, TN, Pediatrics
Medical School: University of Cincinnati, School of Medicine
Residency: University of Louisville, Norton Children's Hospital, Pediatrics
Past Fellows and their Employment
2023
Julie Klensch, MD - Indiana University Ultrasound Fellowship - Indianapolis, IN
Samantha Lucrezia, MD - John Hopkins All Children's Hospital - St. Petersburg, FL
Akwesi Poteh, MD - Childrens Scottish Rite Hospital - Atlanta, GA
2022
Kasi Eastep, DO - Norton Children's Medical Group - Louisville, KY
Dominique Elmore, DO - Norton Children's Medical Group - Louisville, KY
2020
Rosina Hussain, MD, MSc - Children's Minnesota - Minneapolis,MN
Timothy Roach, DO - MSc, Penn State College of Medicine - Hershey, PA
Johanna Sasid, DO - MSc, Norton Children's Hospital - Louisville, KY
2019
Robert Clemons, MD, MPH - University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, NC
Veronica Sepulveda, MD, MSc - Puerto Rico
Shiva Zargham, MD, MSc - University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, NC
2018
Megan Evers, DO, MS, MSc - Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital - Cleveland, OH
Becca Hart, MD, MSc - Norton Children's Hospital - Louisville, KY
Beth Spurlin, MD, PhD - Norton Children's Hospital - Louisville, KY
2017
Ben Nti, MD, MSc - Indiana University - Bloomington, IN
Erika Pasciuta, MD, MSc - University of Kentucky - Lexington, KY
Adam Patterson, MD, MSc - Norton Children's Hospital - Louisville, KY
2016
Danielle Graff, MD, MSc - Norton Children’s Hospital - Louisville, KY
Fellowship Program Leadership
Danielle Graff, M.D., M.Sc.
Director, Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship
Email
502.629.7212
Associate Director, Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship
Email
502.629.7212
For information about the Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship Program at the University of Louisville, please contact the Program Coordinator:
Fellowship Coordinator
Email
502-629-7212
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