Welcome to the Pediatric Residency Program in the department of pediatrics at the University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville. Our program, along with our partners Wolfson Children’s Hospital and Nemours Children’s Health, Jacksonville serves a population of approximately 1.5 million people in the greater Jacksonville and surrounding four-county area (St Johns, Nassau, Clay and Baker). With our large catchment area and outreach clinics, we also draw patients from the Florida panhandle down to Flagler and Volusia counties and Southeast Georgia. Although we are an urban center, our patients hail from inner city to rural, under-served as well as migrant populations given that Jacksonville is designated by the state department as a refugee resettlement site.

Some highlights of our program are listed below:

• Free-standing, children's hospital which is also a State of Florida designated pediatric trauma referral center, with a brand new state of the art quaternary PICU and level 4 NICU. View facilities →
• Tertiary care, metropolitan hospital serving a large indigent population with a Level I trauma center and a Level III NICU
• Access to diverse and multi-cultural local populations, including refugees
• Community and societal pediatrics track with specific focus on advocacy
• Dedicated research and global health tracks allowing exposure to health care in diverse settings
• Longitudinal out-patient experiences that include UF and Baptist community-based offices, private practices and local health department
• State-of-the-art telemedicine and teleconferencing facilities
• Strong emphasis on quality improvement, patient safety and patient oriented scholarly activities
• Unique learning opportunities through some of our out-patient clinics such as JaxHats, and Bower Lyman Center for Medically Complex Children

We all wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors in the field of pediatrics. Please do not hesitate to contact us if we can offer additional assistance.

Ayesha Mirza, M.D.
Program Director, Pediatric Residency
University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville

Jennifer A. Hipp, D.O., M.P.H.
Associate Program Director, Pediatric Residency; Co-Medical Director, UF Health Pediatrics - San Jose
University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville

Nizar F. Maraqa, M.D.
Medical Director, UF Cares; Program Director, Pediatric Infectious Diseases Fellowship; Associate Program Director, Pediatric Residency
University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville

Rita Nathawad, M.D.
Associate Program Director, Pediatric Residency; Medical Director, Jacksonville Health and Transition Services (JaxHATS); Medical Director, Bower Lyman Center for Medically Complex Children
University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville

Deval B. Patel, M.D.
Associate Program Director, Pediatric Residency
University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville