Maine Medical Center
Group shot of MMC Pediatric Residents standing together outside

Pediatric Residency

Our Pediatric Residency Program provides an exceptional education with a breadth of experience typically found only in large centers. As a tertiary care referral hospital for all of Maine and Southern New Hampshire, we offer state-of-the-art care. All this takes place in what we consider the most beautiful, small city in the country. We think you'll agree that three years in Portland, Maine, is "the way life should be." We invite you to explore the links on the left, view the videos below (including a tour of our facilities), or check out @mainemedpediatrics on Instagram to learn more about our program!

The Resident Experience at Maine Medical Center

Pediatric Residency at Maine Medical Center

We welcome your interest in the pediatric residency training program at The Barbara Bush Children's Hospital at Maine Medical Center. As the only tertiary care facility for children in Maine, our residency program offers comprehensive training designed to provide an excellent foundation in general pediatrics. We are enthusiastic about preparing our graduates to practice general pediatrics or to enter the fellowship of their choice. Our patient population includes children throughout the state of Maine and parts of New Hampshire from diverse ethnic groups and multiple socioeconomic backgrounds.

We strongly believe in preventive care and the importance of child advocacy. Our faculty has a strong commitment to excellence in patient care and teaching. Residents in our program receive outstanding education in primary care and both inpatient and outpatient training balanced with critical care and sub-specialty experiences. Whether it is in our hospital or ambulatory units, our simulation center, or in one of our community or rural affiliated practices, you will experience pediatrics side by side with our attending faculty, and have ample opportunity to take ownership of the healthcare of your patients. In addition, the X +Y scheduling system fosters the ability to be wholly present whether on an inpatient or ambulatory experience.

Extensive contact with faculty is the norm here as we do not have fellows in our program. This gives our residents autonomy and the opportunity for direct teaching and focused mentorship from our faculty. Take some time to explore the curriculum section of our website which describes the variety of opportunities available for rotations. Note that a significant portion of your training is designed to allow you to develop unique rotation experiences that best meet your future needs. Explore the many unique rotation offerings that have been developed over the years by past residents and faculty including our ACQUIRE rotation designed to introduce concepts of research, QI and advocacy, and Chronic Care Management, designed to provide a deeper dive into Children with Special Healthcare needs.

Resident and medical student education is also a priority. We are the primary teaching site for our third year medical students from the Maine Track of the Tufts University School of Medicine, third year students from Tufts not in the Maine Track program, as well as students from the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine. We host students from institutions throughout the country join us for fourth year acting internship and elective experiences.

Finally, we live in a wonderfully diverse community, both socio-economically and culturally. We care for patients who’ve relocated to Maine from all over the world and pride ourselves on providing equitable care to all Mainers, as we welcome them into our medical homes. We are committed to supporting a safe and inclusive culture, aligned with MaineHealth diversity, equity and inclusion policies where each person has recognized value, and foster a collaborative, respectful and equitable environment where our learners, faculty and teams can thrive in an ever-changing global community. We are committed to diversifying our workforce to match the patients we care for every day. Learn more about D/E/I within our Pediatric program.

Please explore the rest of our residency website, and check-out the MMC Pediatric Residency Instagram. Or, learn more about MMC in general and all available residency programs.

We look forward to introducing you to our faculty and residents and to sharing our dedication to the welfare of children and to the education of pediatricians in training!

Laura Schroeder, MD (she/her)

Director, Pediatric Residency Program
Attending Physician, Pediatric Critical Care Medicine
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Tufts University School of Medicine

Pam Dietz, MD (she/her)

Associate Program Director, Ambulatory Clinics and Resident Wellness, Pediatric Residency Program
Assistant Clinical Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine

Amy Buczkowski, MD (she/her)

Associate Program Director - Scholarly Activity, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Advocacy, Pediatric Residency Program
Attending Physician, Pediatric Hospital Medicine
Assistant Clinical Professor, Tufts University School of Medicine

Welcome to Maine Medical Center’s Pediatric Residency Program website and thank you for your interest in our program! The Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital (BBCH) at Maine Medical Center has been an incredible place to train over the past three years and I am ecstatic to continue on as the Pediatric Chief Resident this year.

Searching for a residency program is hard, and programs will often blend together, so I’ll try to mention a few things that make our program stand out. BBCH is the only tertiary care hospital for children in Maine, which means that we take care of the sickest children in Maine and parts of New Hampshire. Not only do we serve as the primary pediatricians for patients at Maine Medical Center, but we also serve as Pediatric consultants at hospitals, emergency rooms, urgent cares, and primary care offices across the state. This is something very unique to our program, and something I didn’t fully appreciate until starting residency here. As residents, we hold the “admitting pager,” which is the first point of contact when a doctor in Maine has a pediatrics-focused question. Whether they’re looking to transfer a patient on high-flow to our PICU, have a febrile infant and are wondering what work-up to complete, or looking for advice to broaden their differential, the resident holding the admitting pager is the first physician they call. This allows us to serve as a pediatric expert for physicians across the state, giving residents a unique level of autonomy and trust, while also having a reliable support system of attending pediatric physicians when needed.

Secondly, our badges say Doctor in big bold letters. If you search, you can find the words “resident physician” in small print, but you need to squint. This sets up a culture of equality and respect at Maine Medical Center that stretches from patients, to staff, to attendings. From day one, your patients will see you as their doctor, and that feeling is palpable in both the primary care clinic and the inpatient services.

On day one of your residency you are given a patient panel for whom you serve as the primary care pediatrician. You see your patients for their well child checks, for sick visits when able, and you are responsible for coordinating their care. When they see a consultant, or visit the emergency room, the note gets sent straight to you. It’s up to you to decide if they need a follow-up visit, or if they need a phone call from their doctor (that’s you). Again, this is an opportunity to learn by doing, within a supportive environment with incredible faculty supervisors, and to begin practicing what it means to have the responsibility of being someone’s doctor from day one of residency.

Beyond our great program, a big reason I decided to train here was the opportunity to live and work in Portland, ME. Portland is a small city and a tourist destination, meaning it has all of your city-life essentials with an overabundance of restaurants, boutiques, music venues, and breweries. With direct access to the ocean, and proximity to islands, lakes, the White Mountains, and Acadia National Park, there’s a reason Maine is America’s “Vacationland.”

It is truly a privilege to serve as the pediatric chief resident this year. Thank you for taking the time to learn about our program, and I hope to get to know you as you continue on in the application process! Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions. Best of luck to you!

Aaron Wallace, MD (He/Him)
Pediatric Chief Resident 2023-2024

An urgency to address diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) within academic medicine has accelerated over the last several years, as repeated events of racism, sexism, bigotry, ableism and other forms of discrimination both within health care systems and within society as a whole have gained national attention.

DEI Mission Statement

As a pediatric department, we aim to promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice by identifying and addressing factors or systems in place within and outside of our health care system that create and/or perpetuate health and workplace inequities. These efforts are meant to foster a diverse and inclusive workforce that feels a sense of value, safety, and belonging within the department and to improve the health and well-being of our patients.

MMC Pediatric DEI Committee

Barbara Bush Children's Hospital

The Pediatric DEI Committee at the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital at Maine Medical Center is a group of pediatric residents and faculty that works to create a more diverse and inclusive environment within our pediatric residency program, pediatrics department, and associated clinical venues with the goals of fostering improved relationships between health care professionals and with patients and families and ensuring safe and accommodating work and patient care environments.

This group appreciates that the children we serve are increasingly diverse with differences that may include race, ethnicity, preferred language, religion, disability and special health care needs, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, gender identity and other identifiers. Celebrating the diversity of children and families and promoting nurturing, inclusive environments means actively opposing intolerance, bigotry, bias and discrimination. We are committed to using policy, advocacy and education to encourage inclusivity and cultural humility for all.

We are committed to recruiting, supporting and promoting talented, diverse individuals as residents, faculty and staff. We aim to foster a work environment that embraces interprofessional collaboration, promotes inclusiveness and treats all with dignity and respect.

Our objective is to cultivate a pediatric department that reflects the patients we care for, understands the ways in which systemic inequalities impact our patients and their families, and commits to working towards equity and justice for both its work force and patients through mentorship, community engagement, recruitment and education.

A future goal of the committee is to expand our membership to create an interprofessional team with which to address the above aims.

For any questions about DEI initiatives within the MMC Pediatrics Department, please contact the Chair of the Pediatric DEI Committee, Amy Buczkowski MD, at amy.buczkowski@mainehealth.org.

MaineHealth physicians and residents kneel in support of the Black Lives Matter movement at Maine Medical Center.

MaineHealth physicians and residents kneel in support of the Black Lives Matter movement at Maine Medical Center.

DEI Initiatives of the MMC Pediatrics Department

Previous DEI initiatives within the Pediatrics Department include:

  • Development of an interdisciplinary Health Equity curriculum of case-based discussions to encourage learning about the impact of structural racism, inequities within our healthcare system, and how implicit bias affects patient care.
  • The Pediatric Hospital Medicine group partnered with the Gender Clinic for a quality improvement initiative to improve the care of LGBTQ+ patients and families by increasing provider education about care of LGBTQ+ patients.
  • Pediatric faculty and residents often participate in local activism events, including a Black Lives Matter demonstration at Maine Medical Center (pictured below) and Pride events.
Two internal medicine-pediatrics residents join the Black Lives Matter demonstration at Maine Medical Center.


Two internal medicine-pediatrics residents join the Black Lives Matter demonstration at Maine Medical Center.

Other DEI Initiatives Within Our Institution

DEI initiatives are being championed at many levels within MaineHealth, including the appointment of a MaineHealth Vice President of DEI in February 2021 and development of DEI committees within Graduate Medical Education, the Maine Medical Center Institute for Teaching Excellence (a faculty development program), and Academic Affairs. Through these efforts, we have accomplished the following at our institution:

  • Development of a 3-year MaineHealth DEI strategic plan.
  • Development of a virtual curriculum available to medical staff on Health Disparities, Social Justice & Cultural Humility,
  • Development of a strategic plan to recruit a more diverse and inclusive workforce within graduate medical education.
  • Faculty also have access to additional webinars and resources to learn about DEI topics, such as anti-oppression approaches in medical education, racial health inequities, and micro-aggressions through our affiliation with Tufts University School of Medicine.
Pediatric hospital medicine physicians gather in support of the Black Lives Matter movement at Maine Medical Center.


Pediatric hospital medicine physicians gather in support of the Black Lives Matter movement at Maine Medical Center.

Diversity in Our Local Community

We also recognize the importance of celebrating and supporting the diversity of our local community and the surrounding areas. We serve an international population in the hospital and in our clinics. Per the United States Census Bureau, in 2019, 11% of Portland residents (and 4% of Maine's overall population) were born outside the United States, arriving from all regions of the world. Students of Portland Public Schools alone speak 65 different languages at home. We also serve patients from a variety of urban, suburban, and rural areas, as the Barbara Bush Children's Hospital in Portland provides definitive pediatric care for children in greater Maine and areas of New Hampshire.

Immigrant Health

  • Maine Medical Center is a federally-designated health center for new immigrant arrivals to Portland and to the United States.
  • MaineHealth works closely with Catholic Charities, the federally-designated organization in Portland dedicated to resettling refugees, to provide medical care for new refugees to the area. We also serve immigrants looking to seek asylum, those approved for asylum, and those seeking green cards or other forms of residency in the US, regardless of immigration status.
  • The Greater Portland Welcome Immigrant Group, Maine Access Immigrant Network, Portland Public Library, and many other organizations in Portland offer opportunities, resources, and other assistance for new arrivals in the city, as well as ways for volunteers to get involved.

LGBTQ+ Health

  • There is an inclusive and supportive LGBTQ+ community at Maine Medical Center and in the greater Portland area.
  • Organizations such as Equality Maine and Maine Transgender Network support and promote the causes of the LQBTQ+ community throughout the state.
  • Our Electronic Medical Record now includes a "Preferred Pronouns" heading next to each patient's name and date of birth.

Pediatric Resident Experience

  • Within the patient population of our Pediatric Resident Continuity Clinic, 59% of patients speak a primary language other than English.
  • Pediatric residents complete a rural primary care rotation to experience practicing medicine in remote communities and, while on the Inpatient Pediatric Unit, frequently field calls for advice from providers practicing hours from definitive pediatric care.
  • Pediatric residents interact with many different communities during their adolescent rotation, including:

Graduate Medical Education Program

Our current faculty, residents and fellows are passionate about our programs and providing excellent patient care. Hear their thoughts and learn more about living in Portland, Maine.

Explore our Resident-led Tour of our Facilities

Please enjoy this view into the Pediatric Residency Program at Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine that was made in the Fall of 2020!

Contact Us

Pediatric Residency Program Coordinator

Zachary Wildes
Zachary.Wildes@mainehealth.org

MMC Pediatric Residency Program
22 Bramhall Street P1A #1233
Portland, ME 04102