USD Sanford School of Medicine and Mayo Pediatric Residents Engage in Trauma-Informed Care Training
Held at USD’s Parry Center for Clinical Skills & Simulation, the one-day retreat brought together 27 pediatric residents from both institutions, along with program leadership, faculty facilitators and standardized patients. The event emphasized hands-on learning through realistic clinical scenarios designed to strengthen residents’ confidence and skills in navigating difficult conversations with children and families.
“Bringing pediatric residents together from across our region creates a powerful learning environment,” said Jessica White, M.D., fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, director of the pediatric residency program and associate professor of pediatrics at USD. “By training side by side, residents are able to learn together, share strategies rooted in different clinical settings and build professional relationships that ultimately strengthen the system of care for children and families in our region.”
The training was developed by USD’s Center for the Prevention of Child Maltreatment and featured interactive simulations paired with didactic instruction led by Brooke Jones, M.D., clinical associate professor of pediatrics at USD and a child abuse pediatrician with Sanford Health-Child’s Voice. Scenarios focused on recognizing subtle cues of trauma exposure, practicing mindful communication strategies and applying trauma‑informed principles in everyday pediatric practice.
“One of our core activities at CPCM is interdisciplinary education about how to prevent child abuse and, when it does occur, how to intervene without causing additional harm,” said Darla Biel, assistant director of CPCM and lead for scenario development. “These scenarios created a space for pediatric residents to practice difficult, trauma-informed conversations with families and build skills that will directly impact how they support children and families who have experienced adversity.”
“The didactic sessions,” added Jones, “were designed to give residents a shared framework before they entered the simulations and included time to debrief on the experience.”
Post-training evaluations indicated strong engagement and perceived value among participants. A majority of respondents rated the experience at the highest levels, citing the realism of the simulations, the relevance to clinical practice and the opportunity to observe peers and receive feedback. Many residents reported plans to change aspects of their clinical approach as a direct result of the training.
In addition to its educational impact, the retreat highlighted the strength of collaboration across institutions and disciplines. Faculty, program staff, standardized patients and Parry Center personnel worked together to deliver a learning experience that reflected real-world clinical complexity. The retreat uniquely offered a near-peer teaching environment, with medical students serving as standardized patients, helping residents gain hands-on experience.
“We were thrilled to partner with CPCM and our regional medical education colleges to host this training,” said Valeriy Kozmenko, M.D., CHSE-A, director of the Parry Center for Clinical Skills & Simulation and professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at the USD Sanford School of Medicine. “The Parry Center is designed to support immersive, hands-on learning, and this retreat used our simulation space to create realistic clinical environments for the residents to practice trauma-informed communication in a meaningful and impactful way.”
Feedback from participants and facilitators will inform refinements to future offerings, with particular attention to debriefing structure and faculty facilitation. Planning is already underway for future Sanford–Mayo collaborative pediatric residency trainings.
The 2026 retreat underscores a shared commitment among regional medical education partners to advancing trauma‑informed, patient-centered care and preparing the next generation of pediatric physicians to meet the evolving needs of children and families.
The event was sponsored by T. Denny Sanford Mayo Collaborative, a collaboration between institutions that has supported innovative research and education in pediatrics for the past 20 years.
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