Shani Cunningham, MD

Message from the Program Director

Welcome to the AdventHealth for Children!

The faculty and I are so happy that you have decided to explore our page. We are looking for highly motivated physicians to join our “family” of pediatric residents. My goal is to cultivate a love for learning pediatric medicine that goes beyond the hospital and clinics. Our goal at AdventHealth for Children is to nurture problem-solving skills and foster an environment where curiosity and creativity thrive. My hope is that together we can unlock the potential within each resident. Pediatrics is more than patient care; it is using our role as physicians to be advocates, shape policy and serve as a voice for children and their families. We will dive into exciting topics throughout your training and engage in simulations to challenge and stimulate your mind. From diverse presentations of common diseases to the management of rare conditions - we see it all!

Through interactions with families from all corners of the globe we are here to prepare you to take care of the next generation of children. By way of direct patient care, real-world applications, you will build a solid foundation in pediatrics and develop the confidence to tackle any case that comes your way.

Communication is vital, and I look forward to working with you and building a strong partnership with you as we inspire, challenge, and celebrate you as a pediatrician.

Please feel free to reach out with any questions!

Yours in education,

Shani Cunningham, DO, M.ED, FAAP

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Exciting News!

  • The AdventHealth for Children Pediatric Residency Program is growing! The Class of 2027 and beyond will be 12 residents per class. We are looking forward to meeting you!
  • 100% - Board Pass Rate for Class of 2023.
  • 100% - Fellowship Match Rate for Class of 2024.

A young boy in a pediatric visit with his mother.

About the Program

We received our initial accreditation in April of 2013 from the ACGME and began the program in July of 2013. We are accredited for 6 residents per year and graduated our inaugural class in 2016. The Pediatric Residency Program is designed with the Adult Learner in mind- and can accommodate those who wish to do General Pediatrics or go into a subspecialty via fellowship. As a residency program, we have the flexibility to allow residents to customize their training program- they can participate in away rotations, research electives or specialized electives in our ICUs or subspecialties. The Children’s Hospital has a diverse patient population with an amazing array of pathology among all the subspecialty areas. We not only see a variety of common pediatric illnesses, but also have the opportunity to care for patients from all over the world with our proximity to tourism locations. The residents are an integral part of the team caring for patients, which consists of faculty physicians, medical students, nurses, Nurse Practitioners and the extensive support system within the Children’s Hospital.

Facilities

AdventHealth for Children in the Walt Disney Pavilion is a medium sized Children’s Hospital within a Hospital in Orlando Florida. AdventHealth Orlando has been taking care of children in the Orlando area for over 100 years and we teamed up with Disney in 2006 to design the Walt Disney Pavilion. The Walt Disney Pavilion opened in 2011, is an amazing Children’s Hospital designed by the Imagineers of Disney to promote the healing of children.

We are the only Children’s hospital in the AdventHealth Hospital system, and serve 13 AdventHealth hospitals in Central Florida as a referral center. The Children’s hospital has over 200 inpatient beds, including a 22 bed PICU, 9 bed CVICU, and a 91 bed NICU. We have over 8,000 admissions per year and see around 30,000 kids in our pediatric emergency rooms. The Center for Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, which is the site for our Residency Continuity Clinic in Winter Garden, Southwest Orlando, is a busy primary care clinic with 5 General Pediatricians and an Adolescent Medicine Specialist.

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Our Faculty

Our faculty is comprised of General Pediatricians, Hospitalists, Intensive Care Specialists and a broad variety of Pediatric Subspecialists and Surgeons who are providing hands on care to patients here in our Children’s Hospital. They come from a variety of backgrounds, and have interests in Education, Research and Quality Improvement/ Patient Safety. One of the many benefits of our program includes the fact that the residents is that they get to work directly with the faculty, who are very supportive and value the resident input.

Pediatric Residency Faculty

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Current Residents

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Zenobia Cooper, MD

Chief Resident

PGY- 3

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Kimberly DeLeon, MD

Chief Resident

PGY- 3

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Katelyn Hernandez, DO

PGY- 3

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Victoria Larson, MD

PGY- 3

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Audrey Merrill, MD

PGY- 3

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Anniesha Noel, MD

PGY- 3

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Alexis Aranda, MD

PGY-2

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Buse Baykoca-Arslan, MD

PGY-2

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Alexander Garcia, DO

PGY-2

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Emerald Russell-Nathan, MD

PGY-2

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Christian Soeharsono, MD

PGY-2

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Richard Ulangca, MD

PGY-2

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Alonso Abugattas, DO

PGY-1

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Rute Borges, MD

PGY-1

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Natalia Josiah, MD

PGY-1

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Alfredo Pacheco, MD

PGY-1

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Amanda Ramos, DO

PGY-1

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Taylor Smith, DO

PGY-1

Curriculum

The educational curriculum includes a broad variety of conferences, including case-based discussions, didactic lecture, morning report and simulation experiences with faculty involvement. We also have some self-study modules, and online curriculum. Our faculty and residents have developed specialized curriculum, such as Breastfeeding educational modules, Financial Wellness training, and a Peer Mentoring program to supplement the Conference series.

We are utilizing the American Board of Pediatrics content specifications to organize our educational series to repeat every 12 months- to ensure that all residents have a chance to experience the topics needed to practice Pediatrics today. We also are providing access to the AAP’s Pedialink, and Med Study Question banks as well as a variety of Board Prep materials.

Conference types include the following:

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Resident Schedules

The rotation schedule consists of 13 four-week blocks per year, with a mix of in and outpatient rotations which follow the Pediatric RC guidelines with 6 rotations over three years allotted for individualized curriculum (resident chosen) to prepare each resident for their chosen career path.

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Simulation

The Pediatric residency program is fortunate to work with the AdventHealth Simulation team to provide training for our residents in all areas of patient care.

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Program Information

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Research/Scholarly Productivity/ QI

As one of the key components in ACGME program requirements, research activity and scholarly productivity is an essential part of training in the era of evidence-based medicine, we strongly believe at AdventHealth Orlando that residents should develop critical thinking skills to evaluate the publications and apply new knowledge in their clinical practice, fostering their intellectual curiosity that drives the future of medical care forward.

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Alumni

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FAQs

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Application Process

Join Our Resident Team

We will be accepting reservations through ERAS only and will begin to offer invitations to interview virtually on a rolling basis starting in October. Interview scheduling will be done through the ERAS Scheduler and interviews will be held virtually via Microsoft Teams/Zoom from October 13th through December 22th, 2023.

Decisions regarding acceptance of applications will be completed by November 30th, we will have a waitlist for interviews available in case of any cancellations.

Virtual Open House Events

See Link Below

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Residency Coordinator
Contact Information

Nancy Ramos

Residency Coordinator

2501 N. Orange Avenue, Orlando, FL 32804