Pediatric Gastroenterology Fellowship - Houston Curriculum

The curriculum includes:

• Year 1: Clinical Training = 9 months; Research Training = 3 months
• Year 2: Clinical Training = 0 months; Research Training = 12 months; Fellows Clinic = Half day per week
• Year 3: Clinical Training = 3 months (electives); Research Training = 9 months; Fellows clinic half day per week

First-year fellows rotate between GI Service, Liver Service and Consult Service. While on the Consult Service the first year fellows will rotate through the following nutritionally based clinics:

• Aerodigestive Disorders Clinic
• Eosinophillic Disorders Clinic
• Intestinal Rehabilitation Clinic
• Prader-Willi Clinic
• Rett Syndrome Clinic
• Viral Hepatitis Clinic
• Liver/Transplant Hepatology Clinic
• Celiac Clinic
• Pancreaticobiliary Clinic
• Inflammatory Bowel Disease Clinic

Conferences are an important part of any fellowship training program. The Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition holds conferences on a regular basis in addition to those held by the Department of Pediatrics.

The division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition offers a CME accredited case conference where evidence based practice is presented.

The fellows have a dedicated didactic curriculum at noon every Friday presented by the faculty.

Journal Club is held in the homes of faculty and includes dinner. This offers an informal setting in which trainees can get to know both clinical and research faculty associated with the program.

Camp SIA, which is a free camp for our patients who have lifelong conditions, including liver and bowel disease.

• Camp SIA, which is a free camp for our patients who have lifelong conditions, including liver and bowel disease.

As the field of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition has evolved, the breadth and depth of areas of clinical expertise and research endeavor have increased dramatically. Given the commitment of our program to the training of academic physicians, it has become clear that a single track of training is not adequate to meet the needs of the field and our trainees. Three distinct tracks of training have been developed, with a focus on research activities in the second and third year of fellowship. The tracks are designed to help identify, at an early stage/first year in fellowship, the most appropriate training experience to meet the individual’s career objectives. It should be noted at the outset that there is no intrinsic enhanced value of one track over another. They are designed to meet the distinct needs of trainees. All are rigorous in training and in expectation of academic pursuit and product. The three tracks are briefly described below and further delineated in specific detailed descriptions or timelines for each of the tracks.

Investigator Track – This track is designed to permit training in a wide-range of endeavors that will permit the trainee to experience the full range of the process of scientific investigation (hypothesis development, planning and executing investigations, interpreting and presenting the newly developed data in the context of the existing literature). A key goal will be to develop the skills necessary for independent assessment of scientific evidence. Mentors and the scientific oversight committees for this track will work with the trainee to develop lines of investigation that are important, feasible and conceptualized to permit meaningful data acquisition in the first 12 to 15 months of the research training. This will allow the trainee adequate time to delve into the interpretation of the new data and yield ample opportunity for presentation/publication of the data in the context of existing information. This process will give the trainee the requisite skills for critical interpretation of new data, which could be laboratory or clinically based.

Clinical Niche Track – This track permits simultaneous training in investigation along with a more in-depth clinical experience in a particular niche in Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition. This track is designed for those individuals who desire a patient care focused career in a specific sub-specialty area such as inflammatory bowel disease, neurogastroenterology and motility, hepatology, advanced procedures, global health, or aerodigestive disorders, as examples. In this track, advanced clinical training is carefully integrated with a rigorous research endeavor to lay the groundwork to develop clinical specialists who have the ability to carry out patient oriented research. The scope of investigation and/or research product is tailored to accommodate the need for additional clinical training without diminishing the academic rigor of the line of investigation and/or the product that is developed as a result of the investigation. To pursue this track, a specific clinical niche needs to be identified by the trainee within 9 months of entering fellowship. View the Clinical Niche Track details.

Physician-Scientist Track – This track is designed to provide clinically relevant research training with the specific goal of attaining an independently funded career as a physician-scientist in Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition. The near term goal of the program is for the individual to obtain NIH K-award (or equivalent thereof) funding within three years of completion of the fellowship. Individuals interested in this track will follow a distinct application and interview process when applying for a fellowship position. Criteria for acceptance into this track are very rigorous; the successful applicant typically will have extensive research experience prior to starting fellowship. There is institutional commitment to individuals in this track for three years of 75% protected time as an Assistant Professor after fellowship, presuming specific benchmarks are met during the three years of fellowship. The scientific endeavor in this track can include basic, translational, clinical or educational research. View the Physician-Scientist Track details. Individuals interested in pursuing this track should contact Dr. Benjamin Shneider at Benjamin.Shneider@bcm.edu by Aug. 22, 2022, for their application to be considered. Applications to this track can be found separately through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS). Applicants who would also like to be considered for a Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition Fellowship position outside of this track, should apply for both through ERAS.