Established in 1987, the Pediatric Critical Care Division of the Philippine Children’s Medical Center is a pioneer in post-residency fellowship training in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine in the country. It was founded by the late Dr. Herminia L. Cifra, the Mother of Critical Care in the Philippines. In its core is the 26-bed critical care unit, the largest Pediatric ICU in the Philippines. Its training program is supported by a level IV PPS-accredited training program in general pediatrics as well as by a myriad of pediatric subspecialties.

The PCMC Pediatric Intensive Care Unit is accredited by the Hospital Intensive Care Unit Accreditation Board (HICUAB) of the Society of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Philippines, Inc. (SPCCMP). It has met and passed the HICUAB’s standards of ensuring quality care among critically-ill children, which includes service, PICU physical set-up, manpower complement, and Pediatric Critical Care fellowship training program.

It is also an accredited American Heart Association (AHA) International Training Center ( ITC) for BLS, PALS, ACLS and Heartsaver in the Philippines.

Since its inception, the Pediatric Critical Care Division produced over 40 competent, compassionate and committed pediatric intensivists, who are distributed in different regions and provinces in the country. This was made possible by its 10 esteemed consultants. Our trainers are a mixture of seasoned, top-caliber and veteran senior consultants and of young, vibrant and innovative junior consultants. Our consultants hold past and current positions in SPCCMP and PPS and are also heads of Pediatric ICUs in their respective hospital affiliations.

This 24-month training program in Pediatric Critical Care exposes its trainees to the multidisciplinary approach in the management of critically-ill patients. We have achieved the ideal trainee/trainer ratio and the patient/trainee ratio as prescribed by the HICUAB.

In spite of the pandemic, our fellows-in-training are exposed to continuing professional development programs both here and abroad. Our library has access and subscription to the latest online journals in Pediatrics and in relevant Pediatric subspecialties. Our graduates maintain a consistent 100% passing rate in the subspecialty board examinations. They have submitted high quality research papers, which have been published and/or presented locally and internationally.

Currently our consultants are attending trainings in various disciplines in pediatric critical care including pediatric onco-critical care and point of care ultrasound, to name a few. The quest for learning in PICU is unending and it is a culture practiced by both the trainees and their mentors.