Jeffrey Salomon

Pediatric Critical Care

Few doctors forget their first Code Blue experience. For Jeffrey Salomon, MD, a 2013 Saba University School of Medicine graduate, it launched his career in pediatric critical care and a fellowship at Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri.

A graduate of the University of North Texas with a degree in Biology, Jeffrey first learned about Saba through his brother, a physician’s assistant, who did rotations with students from Saba. “My brother was incredibly impressed with their preparedness and diligence and he told me all about them. When I decided to take the plunge, I was really sure of Saba and my experience there completely confirmed my hunch. My fellow classmates were outstanding and we had really great study groups. It was an environment of encouragement among classmates.”

Originally interested in radiology, it was during his clinical rotations Jeffrey was drawn to pediatrics. As a fourth year medical student, an interest in the fast pace of critical care was established. “You experience a wide range of pathophysiology in this area of medicine. It’s stressful, but very rewarding.” While at Saba, Jeffrey also began his studies for an MBA in Health Management from Davenport University.

After Saba, Jeffrey went on to a residency in pediatrics at Driscoll Children’s Hospital in Corpus Christi TX. “At Driscoll you see a large diversity of diseases and syndromes. I have often heard the phrase, ‘If there are 100 people with a disease in the world, Driscoll will have two.’”

It was during his initial year of residency at Driscoll that he experienced his first Code Blue. “During my rounds I was pulled into a room where a patient had just stopped breathing. I started doing compressions and then led the code on the patient and brought him back, even before the ICU team had arrived on the floor. It was my first code experience and it was powerful.”

The fellowship at Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital in St Louis is not only allowing Jeffrey to pursue his career in critical care. Having grown up in St. Louis, it has also brought him back home.