The Pediatric Residency Programs emphasizes the interrelationship of patient care, didactic teaching, and research in the training of the pediatric resident physician. The focus of the Department is on the total care of the child from birth through young adulthood. A strong clinical and educational foundation is provided through experiences in a broad spectrum of disease and/or injury as well as training in biosocial pediatrics, preventive health care, and community resources.

The program offers variety and depth due to the diversity of the Department's two major teaching hospitals, the UCI Medical Center and the Miller Children's Hospital (located at Memorial Hospital Medical Center, Long Beach). The faculty at these institutions provide a comprehensive teaching program in general pediatrics and cover the full range of pediatric subspecialties. The care of children seen through the two hospitals represents a cross-section of racial, cultural, and socioeconomic groups from a local population of more than 2.5 million. Thus, pediatric residents are exposed to a wide range of problems presented in settings ranging from intensive care to supervised office-based practice.