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.

Why specialise at Vall d’Hebron?

• Because we care for a high volume of patients, which enables residents to gain knowledge and experience.
• Because we are a tertiary hospital with leading departments in the different areas that make up residents’ essential training.
• Because you will have the opportunity to see complex pathologies and to use ground-breaking diagnostic methods and treatments.
• Because our training programme provides different options to adapt to the personal initiative and vocation of each resident; from the most patient-facing roles to those more focused on research in collaboration with different laboratories from the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute; one of the most important in the country.
• Because we have a demanding programme with all the necessary resources for professional advancement in academic neurosurgery and all its components.
• Because our objective is to stimulate the personal growth of future neurosurgeons who wish to work in centres where research and education are not optional extras, but form an integral part of the department.

During their training, residents learn about different aspects of internal medicine, with particular emphasis on cardiology, pulmonary pathology, the renal system, and diabetes mellitus. For this reason they do rotations in Pneumology, Nephrology and Endocrinology. After the rotation, specialists deepen their knowledge in intensive care for trauma and burns patients. During their final year, specialists have the opportunity to rotate through specialised areas such as hand surgery or paediatric plastic surgery.

The Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), has its own animal facilities where students can practice microsurgery. Students may also study in the Burns Unit and take part in national and international publications and presentations.

Why specialise at Vall d’Hebron?

• Because we are leading centre throughout the National Healthcare System of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Andorra for surgery for burns patients and external ear reconstruction.
• Because we are the creators of the Telecremats project, which allows remote consultations so that patients do not have to travel to a health centre, and which also supports professionals working in the unit.
• Because we are experts in Catalonia in the treatment of epidermolysis bullosa.
• Because we have a Face and limb transplant programme and the Facial Traumatology Treatment Unit.
• Because we have a unit for surgical treatment of facial paralysis and another for pressure sores in patients with spinal cord injuries.
• Because we have a Cutaneous Tumour Unit.
• Because we have a unit dedicated to treatment of morbid obesity sequela.
• Because we have a Paediatric Plastic Surgery Unit, and in particular, a unit for treatment of paediatric vascular defects.
• Because we have a breast and lower limb reconstructive microsurgery unit.
• Because we treat serious cutaneous disease in the Exfoliative Dermatitis Treatment Unit (Lyell’s syndrome).
• Because we offer round-the-clock care, with shifts on duty 24 hours a day (consultant and resident).
• Because we oversee our residents’ surgical training so that they can take part in committees dealing with vascular defects, cutaneous tumours, septic patients, breast pathology and epidermolysis bullosa.
• Because residents take part in monthly morbidity and mortality sessions, and weekly single-specialisation and literature review sessions.
• Because we enable attendance at conferences and courses in the specialisation.
• Because we enable residents to undertake rotations at external national and international centres.
• Because we offer the chance to follow doctorate, postgraduate and doctoral thesis courses.

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.

We offer residents the opportunity to master infant surgical pathology, physical examination and interpretation of clinical symptoms in patients who are often unable to express themselves or explain their medical history due to their age.

We train residents in the most common surgical techniques in the specialisation from general surgery, hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery, colorectal surgery, oesophagogastric surgery, and paediatric digestive surgery. Our residents also carry out neonatal surgery, paediatric thoracic and surgical oncology, paediatric urology, paediatric maxillofacial surgery and paediatric plastic surgery.            

Residents take part in duty shifts in all the subspecialisations of paediatric surgery with the support of the paediatric surgery staff and a resident medical intern. Laparoscopy is currently commonly used by different areas and units within the Digestive System Department, such as neonatal care and urology.

During the first two years of the residency, rotations are carried out in General Surgery, on the paediatric surgery ward, in Outpatient Surgery and Digestive Surgery. The remaining three years are spent in Urology, Oncology and Thoracic Surgery, Neonatal and Research, Maxillofacial and Plastic Surgery. The final year of training is dedicated to optional rotations, Transplant Surgery and a stay at a hospital abroad, with the option to repeat one of the previous rotations.

Residents are obliged to undertake duty shifts during their training period. Apart from the months during the general surgery rotation, duty shifts in Paediatric Surgery are carried out at the Maternity and Children's Hospital.

As far as research is concerned, participation in the department’s active lines of research is stimulated, as well as proposals for any research project that may or may not be related to them and which may result in a doctoral thesis.

The Vall d’Hebron Research Institute maintains different well-established lines of paediatric research, in areas such as experimental surgery, and  foetal surgery in particular. In 2015 we created the Congenital Defects Surgery Cellular Therapy  bioengineering group , which currently carries out research on spina bifida focusing on prenatal and perinatal aspects. In addition we undertake research on amniotic bands, gastroschisis, oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernias, diaphragmatic and labio-palatine fissure reconstruction, and research into treatments for premature birth.

In terms of clinical research, our Department has pioneered coordination of the first randomized multi-centre study on treatment of parapneumonic empyema  (during which video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery is compared with drainage and fibrinolytics), and which was later published in the study “Urokinase Versus VATS for Treatment of Empyema: A Randomized Multicenter Clinical Trial”. Paediatrics. 

Why should I specialise at Vall d’Hebron?

• Because we undertake surgery planning sessions during which the most interesting and complex cases in the different paediatric specialisations are discussed.
• Because we are patient-focused, and once a month, residents of paediatric surgery prepare and present a clinical case resulting in some kind of complication.                     
• Because in the Paediatric Surgery Unit we hold continuous professional development sessions to keep up to date with the latest knowledge, research methods and new technologies.
• Because we are one of 25 centres in Europe to be recognised as a centre of excellence for paediatric surgery training by the European Board of Paediatric Surgeons.
• Because we are pioneers in the use of Da Vinci® robot-assisted surgery for safe endoscopic procedures.
• Because we pioneered the first paediatric kidney transplant in 1981, and the first paediatric liver transplant in 1985.
• Because we have created successful surgical techniques to increase the number of viable donations, such as reduced-liver transplants and split-liver transplants.
• Because we have the first Foetal Surgery programme, which began in 2001.
• Because we were the first to treat severe congenital diaphragmatic hernias and the first centre worldwide to undertake fetoscopic repair of myelomeningocele.
• Because Paediatric Oncology at Vall d’Hebron is a national and international leader with the highest number of patients in the country.
• Because we  treat the most complex cases in paediatric patients with polytraumatism.
• Because we also encourage residents to carry out external rotations in leading international centres.
• Because in Neonatal Surgery we offer the chance to do rotations in experimental surgery or research, as the Head of this Unit is also Head of Research.
• Because we motivate residents to attend congresses and there are frequent opportunities  to attend various conferences such as the National Paediatric Surgery Congress, the Congress of the Mediterranean Association of Paediatric Surgeons, the Catalan Paediatrics Society Annual Meeting, the Catalan Language Paediatricians’ Congress and the Annual Meeting of the Spanish Paediatrics Association.
• Because we offer the option to do a rotation in liver and intestinal transplant.                                                                          

The Cardiology Department Teaching Unit at Vall d’Hebron Hospital is divided into nine operational units. These include Outpatients, conventional wards, the Day Hospital, the Coronary Care Unit, Intensive Coronary Care, Semi-critical Care, Echocardiography and Cardiac Imaging, Haemodynamics and Angiocardiography, Arrhythmia, Nuclear Cardiology and the Experimental Laboratory. It should be said that the Cardiovascular Epidemiology Unit, part of the Cardiology Department, is unique within Spain.

We work in multidiscipline areas to treat specific medical problems such as Marfan syndrome and Congenital Heart Disease, and are national leaders in both fields. Our activity is always patient-centred and aims to maximise outpatient care and general cardiology. To this end we regularly run clinical care and scientific sessions that involve all professionals in the Department.

During training, residents progressively increase their level of skill, from taking medical histories at the start of their training, for example, to the use of automatic defibrillators in the final phase of their residency. 

During the first year residents undertake shifts in Internal Medicine, with one shift a month in Cardiology. In the second and third year they do shifts in clinical cardiology within the Accident and Emergency Department. The fourth and fifth year include shifts in the Coronary Care Unit and Haemodynamics.     

In terms of training, there are sessions, seminars and courses, and residents’ participation in national and international congresses, conferences, seminars and courses is encouraged.

At the end of the cardiology residency, it is possible to continue training in research as part of the Riu Ortega programme for the Carlos III Health Institute. We also take part in undergraduate and postgraduate research staff training programmes run by the Generalitat of Catalonia’s Department for Education and Universities and the Ministry of Education.

Research activities  of note include collaboration with the International Doctorate School on myocardial consequences, in cooperation with the University of Giessen (PROMISE), funded by the German organisation DFG and BIOCAT.

Why should you specialise at Vall d’Hebron?

• Because the Multidiscipline Unit of Adult and Adolescent Congenital Heart Disease is a leader within Spain.
• Because we are a national point of reference through the development of the European Cardiology Society’s clinical practice guides for disorders such as valvulopathy, endocarditis, aortic pathology, coronary syndrome, syncope, congenital heart disease, acute coronary syndrome and pericardium disease.
• Because we are national and international pioneers who have been developing our own healthcare protocol for each cardiac pathology since 1981.
• Because we offer residents shifts in Cardiology within the Accident and Emergency Department, supported by a consultant and two residents in person, and a haemodynamics specialist who can be reached if necessary.
• Because in Cardiac Care we have a daily meeting with the previous shift attended by the team on duty, the Head of Department and the Heads of Unit.
• Because we have a daily Coronary Care Unit meeting at the end of every day, attended by staff doctors, residents, and the consultant and resident who have been on duty.
• Because we organize two weekly nuclear cardiology sessions, attended by the cardiologist in charge of the section, the cardiology resident and doctors from Nuclear Medicine.
• Because we carry out three cardiac imaging sessions a week, attended by the doctors training in the echocardiography and ergometry unit, during which cardiac MRI and CT scans are discussed, along with echocardiographic and magnetic resonance assessments of particular interest.
• Because we hold a weekly session on electro physiology and arrhythmia with paediatric cardiology and adult congenital heart disease.
• Because we deal with infectious endocarditis (in collaboration with Bacteriology, Infectious Diseases and Cardiac Surgery) in a dedicated weekly session.
• Because we hold weekly seminars in the Experimental Cardiology Laboratory, and fortnightly seminars from the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute.
• Because the top cardiologists and cardiovascular researchers in Spain and Europe take part in our clinical sessions, which are recognised by the SNS (National Health Service) Continuous Professional Development Commission, and the Catalan Council for Continuing Medical Education.
• Because every year we offer courses in echocardiography, pacemakers and arrhythmia, adult congenital heart disease and nuclear cardiology, and Advanced cardiopulmonary resuscitation courses organised for Cardiology residents, in addition to other courses.
• Because we encourage residents to take part in the National Cardiology Congress and the European Cardiology Congress during the final years of their residency.
• Because we enable residents to undertake part of their residency training in other centres, particularly in New York, Washington, London and Cologne.

Our Teaching Unit attracts medical students from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, residents and specialists. Every year, it teaches over 120 resident doctors (45 of whom are the service's own residents) in the cross-cutting, specific skills of Anaesthesia and Resuscitation, and in Entrustable Professional Activities (EPA) for anaesthesia, and complements the training of over 20 specialists in anaesthesia and other specialities. It also offers an advanced international training programme in Paediatric Anaesthesia. 

On our Campus, you have the opportunity to attend, learn and reflect on the care performed for all kinds of pathologies. In order to facilitate integration into the service and speciality, during the first month of rotation, the resident is trained in cross-cutting skills, via the Hospital's Teaching Unit, and in the basics of Anaesthesia and Resuscitation, through a personalised training plan. In addition to assisting in various areas, sessions and compulsory courses, the individual training plan for our residents includes participation in the theory-practical modules specifically designed for each training year. These are run by experts in the specific subject skill of the module.

The efforts of our Teaching Unit are directed towards training excellent, thoughtful professionals with a critical spirit, by and for our present-day society. 
 

Why practise this speciality at Vall d'Hebron?

• Because the teaching here ensures safe, high-quality clinical practice, with Teaching Coordination that continually reviews and supervises the protocols and knowledge that are taught.
• Because we prepare you for a future in which residents can perform anaesthesia and resuscitation applied to all existing specialities and in any healthcare hospital.
• Because we have trained over 400 professionals and we have had extensive experience in training Anaesthesia and Resuscitation specialists since 1972.
• Because we offer residents a weekly course where practice and simulation is the most commonly used methodology, in order to ensure real, high-quality learning.
• Because we foster the participation of residents in existing lines of research.
• Because we also offer residents the opportunity of doing their doctoral thesis with us.
• Because we are the cutting edge and we include new surgical techniques, new diagnostic methods and treatments on demand. 
• Because the training we offer is cross-cutting and residents learn not only the most common, but also the most complex procedures.