Family-Centered Rounds

Family-Centered Rounds are an important part of what we do in pediatrics, and during your clerkship you'll be able to take part in leading those rounds.  The purpose of family-centered rounds is not to rehash everything that is in the medical record, rather it's to get the team and families up to speed on the child's overall course, diagnosis, and plan for the day.  It's an opportunity for both sides to ask questions, clarify information, and generate a plan of shared decision making and understanding.

Since this is likely the first time you've taken part in family-centered rounds, we've put together some resources to help you along.  Note, each team may have different expectations for rounds, so please ask what those are and use that as your lead, however this should be a good starting point for reference:


  • The staff at Cincinnati Children’s created the following series of educational videos that illustrate how to conduct patient- and family-centered rounds.  Click on them below to watch.


  • There is also a nice concise checklist of to-do items during rounds available below.  The checklist comes from the Improving Patient Rounds:  Patient- and Family-Centered Care "Takes On" Academic Bedside Rounds by the ACGME and Picker Institute.



If you find additional helpful resources on family-centered rounds, please pass them on!