Frank Casey. M.D.

Name:  Frank Casey

Board Certification: Pediatric Critical Care

Medical School: Case Western Reserve University

Residency: Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh (Pediatrics)

Fellowship: Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh (Pediatric Critical Care) 

Faculty Rank: Assistant Professor 

Special Clinical/Research Interests: ECMO, Traumatic Brain Injury

Is there a particular population of students (e.g., ethnicity, spiritual, sexual orientation) that you would particularly like to advise?

Anyone interested in Pediatrics or Critical Care Medicine

What does a typical day in the life of a Pediatric Critical Care Physician include?

Rounding on patients during the morning.  Performing procedures and admitting patients throughout the afternoon and evening.  During off service weeks, performing sedations, conducting research, and doing resident education.

What is the biggest challenge of being a Pediatric Critical Care Physician?

In Pediatric Critical Care, we care for severely ill children with an extremely diverse range of problems ranging from sepsis to congenital heart disease to head trauma.  While it is impossible to know everything so many fields, we have to have a good base of knowledge in all of them and be able to co-manage with a broad variety of sub-specialists.

How do you foresee Pediatric Critical Care Medicine changing over the next 20 years?

As mortality is fortunately low in the Pediatric ICU, we are shifting to focusing on improving morbidity of our patients.  Research is being performed to find less toxic combinations of sedation medicines.  We are working to find more gentle modes of mechanical ventilation and improve non-invasive modes to avoid it whenever possible.  The job field is also changing as more physician practices are changing to a shift work structure with night float.

What advice would you give a student who is considering a Pediatrics residency?

I would advise them to keep an open mind in residency for all of the possible sub-specialty options.  There are many varied choices with uniquely interesting aspects.