Gastroenterology Fellowship Program

The Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at Children’s Hospital at Montefiore (CHAM) is a world-class center for the care of children with gastrointestinal, hepatic and nutritional disorders and is composed of dedicated healthcare professionals who provide this care. Our Gastroenterology and GI Surgery programs are highly regarded, ranking No. 16 in the 2018-2019 list of Best Children's Hospitals published in U.S. News and World Report.

The Gastroenterology Fellowship program at Children’s Hospital at Montefiore offers the opportunity to work with a respected team of highly qualified physicians who have made contributions in areas such as inflammatory bowel disease, intestinal failure/bowel rehabilitation, liver disease and transplantation, therapeutic endoscopy and both basic science and clinical research. This program is based on clinical learning, and augmented by didactic sessions and individual teaching/feedback.

What Our Fellowship Offers

Clinical Training
Outpatient Experience

Our ambulatory subspecialty practice is central to developing an understanding of acute and chronic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, liver and pancreas; the impact of nutrition on growth and development; and psychosocial interactions that impact health and growth. It allows us to emphasize the interplay between different childhood development stages and manifestations of gastrointestinal disease, as well as the impact of social and emotional development, cultural or ethnic diversity, health promotion, and disease prevention.

First-year fellows attend 3 half-day outpatient sessions per week where they are trained by faculty experienced in the diagnosis and management of patients with complex gastrointestinal diseases and liver pathologies. During their second and third year of training, fellows attend a one half-day dedicated continuity clinic where they see a variety of new consults, returning patients and self-referrals under direct supervision of the rotating faculty. Fellows are responsible for all aspects of their patients' medical care. This set up provides an enhanced consultative experience and ensures continuity of care and exposure to longitudinal disease processes.

Fellows also have the option of selecting a 2-6 month elective ambulatory clinical rotation in short bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and hepatology.

Inpatient Experience

Fellows work as part of a multidisciplinary team, including faculty from other subspecialty divisions within Pediatrics, Pediatric/Transplant Surgery, Radiology and Pathology. First-year fellows spend 19 weeks on both the gastroenterology (GI) inpatient service and the liver inpatient service. Second-year fellows have 4 weeks of inpatient responsibility. Third-year fellows have 2 weeks of inpatient responsibility.

While covering the GI inpatient service, fellows care for patients admitted to the gastroenterology service and provide consultation services to patients admitted to general pediatrics, adolescent medicine, PCCU and other subspecialty services. Fellows are exposed to patients with complex and challenging gastrointestinal diseases, such as intestinal failure/rehabilitation, inflammatory bowel disease, feeding disorders and pancreatic disorders.

Fellows will obtain comprehensive training in hepatology in an integrated, multidisciplinary approach to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of all hepatobiliary diseases, and liver transplantation while covering the hepatology service. Fellows have exposure to all phases of transplant care: the evaluation process, listing process, pre-transplant support (medical, procedural, nutritional), critical peritransplant phase, and management of acute and chronic post-transplant complications. They will also develop an understanding of immunosuppressant agents utilized in liver transplantation.

Endoscopy Training

Fellows work closely with faculty and a team of endoscopy-registered nurses and technicians, performing procedures in a dedicated state-of-the-art endoscopy suite and fluoroscopy unit. Fellows learn to perform diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, including upper endoscopy, colonoscopy, capsule endoscopy, rectal biopsy, liver biopsy, foreign body removal, endoscopic balloon dilation, percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy placement, band ligation of varices, sclerotherapy, and diagnostic and therapeutic paracentesis. Fellows also learn the principals of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, endoscopic ultrasound, esophageal and rectal manometry and breath testing.

Special emphasis is placed on becoming familiar with the broad range of endoscopic findings and histopathologic interpretation of biopsies.

Nutrition

A working knowledge of pediatric nutritional issues is a critical component of our training. In both outpatient and inpatient settings, fellows will gain practical experience in recognizing the clinical and biochemical manifestations of nutritional deficiencies, and will become competent in determining nutritional needs of children and adolescents with special needs, such as inflammatory bowel disease, short bowel syndrome, cholestatic liver disease, end-stage liver disease and malignancies. In addition, fellows will learn the principles of, and become competent in providing enteral and parenteral nutrition.

Research Training

Fellows have expanded access to the highest quality research opportunities at Children’s Hospital at Montefiore and Albert Einstein College of Medicine. All fellows will be expected to engage in hypotheses-driven mentored research projects. Areas in which scholarly activity may be pursued include: basic science, clinical, or translational research; quality improvement; bioethics; and education. Fellows also have the opportunity to pursue the Master of Science in Clinical Research Methods or the Einstein-Cardozo Master of Science in Bioethics during their second and third year of training.

The current fellows and recent graduates of our fellowship program have been invited to present their research product –both translational and clinical- in many national and international meetings including Digestive Disease Week, American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (National Meeting and World Congress). This recognition highlights the diverse and vibrant research opportunities for fellows.

Quality Improvement

The Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition is involved in many quality improvement efforts, both at an institutional and national level, in areas of inflammatory bowel disease, bowel rehabilitation, central line-associated bacterial infections, endoscopy and hepatology. Fellows actively participate in this team‑based approach to medical care, which results in both improved medical outcomes and quality of life.

Teaching Conferences

Fellows are expected to attend all the scheduled clinical conferences including:

Inpatient-multidisciplinary case conference (weekly)
Topic/Research conference (weekly)
Combined hepatology/surgery/radiology conference (weekly)
IBD conference (monthly)
Radiology conference (biweekly)
Pathology conference (biweekly)
Journal Club (monthly)
Board review session (weekly)

Applying for Our Fellowship

Our program is registered with ERAS (The Electronic Residency Application Service).

Please submit your application through ERAS and provide the following documentation:

Current Curriculum Vitae
Personal Statement of 1-2 pages describing your reasons for pursuing training in pediatric gastroenterology, and your future career plans
At least 3 Letters of Recommendation, including a letter from your residency program director
USMLE/ECFMG scores

Our recruitment season opens July 15, 2018. Interviews will be scheduled from September through November, 2018. All interviews will take place at Children's Hospital at Montefiore, Bronx, NY. Applicants selected for a personal interview will be contacted through ERAS by the fellowship program coordinator.