Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology

Jefferson offers a highly competitive three-year comprehensive training in gastroenterology and hepatology. Last year, more than 500 applications were received to fill four trainee positions. The program is designed to produce superior subspecialists equipped to pursue academic careers emphasizing either clinical or bench research. The Jefferson Gastroenterology & Hepatology Fellowship affords ample inpatient and ambulatory experiences necessary to develop exceptional clinical and endoscopic skills. A clinical or basic science project supervised by a full-time faculty member is an integral component of the fellowship training.

Objectives

Your medical training and the years that you have dedicated to becoming a doctor have provided you with a substantial amount of scientific knowledge and skill. To gain expertise in your chosen field of gastroenterology, further dedication to training in clinical medicine and research is necessary. At Sidney Kimmel Medical College, we offer fellowships in gastroenterology and hepatology emphasizing a distinctive blend of laboratory and clinical training. The major objectives of the program are:

• To provide an optimal clinical setting in all areas within the field of gastroenterology.
• To pursue research that links clinical findings with published scientific data and laboratory investigations.
  
• To maintain an active academic curriculum that includes bedside teaching, endoscopic instruction, and a comprehensive gastrointestinal conference schedule.
  

We believe this hands-on combination, together with our respect for the individual's capacity and desire for knowledge, provides an exceptional postgraduate training program in gastroenterology and hepatology. We are proud of our low teacher-to-student ratio, which allows for personalized attention for those who want to learn in a progressive and intensive environment. Our staff of gastroenterologists and hepatologists holds the impressive credentials and experience required by a major medical center. They share the genuine desire to impart their knowledge and skills to others.

Facilities

Clinical training for the fellowship is primarily located at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, in Center City Philadelphia. Jefferson is a 717-bed acute care facility that serves as a primary and tertiary care hospital for residents of Philadelphia and the surrounding Delaware Valley. The educational experience at Jefferson is enhanced by an active cadaveric and live-donor liver transplantation program.

Upper-year fellows also spend two months per year at Underwood-Memorial Hospital (UMH), in nearby Woodbury, New Jersey, located approximately 20 minutes from Jefferson. UMH is a 350-bed community hospital at which fellows gain additional experience in primary consultative GI and further experience in interventional endoscopy.

The ambulatory care facilities at Jefferson are those of the Jefferson Digestive Health Institute (JDHI), a newly renovated suite that comprises the outpatient, administrative, and secretarial offices for the Academic Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology. JDHI is located adjacent to the division's endoscopy and motility laboratories. The JDHI contains 15 fully equipped examination rooms and a 60-seat conference room equipped with state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment. An office for clinical fellows, equipped with current reference textbooks and desktop computers, is also located in the JDHI.

Structure

The fellowship training program in gastroenterology is managed by Director Anthony J. DiMarino, Jr., MD, Academic Coordinator Robert Coben, MD, and Associate Academic Coordinator Stephanie Moleski, MD. During the first year, clinical training is divided between inpatient gastroenterology consultation services, ambulatory endoscopic and clinical experiences, and two months of dedicated research. The second year is comprised of rotations through the inpatient gastroenterology consultative services, inpatient hepatology consultation/liver transplantation service at Jefferson, ambulatory endoscopic and clinical experiences (including a clinic for liver transplantation patients), and three months devoted to research. Research and scholarly activities will comprise the majority of the third year. Third-year fellows can gain additional training in advanced interventional endoscopy, hepatology, motility, inflammatory bowel disease, and basic science research. During the three years of the fellowship, trainees maintain longitudinal outpatient gastroenterology and hepatology clinics that are always supervised by full-time faculty. Each trainee is allotted four weeks paid vacation per year. Trainees have ample opportunity to acquire all the necessary diagnostic and therapeutic skills.

During the first year of fellowship, trainees are encouraged to meet with each of the basic science and clinical faculty in order to discuss participation in research. First-year fellows are expected to have their research projects approved by Dr. DiMarino by October 1 of their first year. It is expected that fellows will engage in scholarly writing and plan and execute basic or clinical research. This is the primary focus of research rotations but, by necessity, these efforts continue during other rotations. Fellows are expected to submit the results of their research efforts for presentation at local and national meetings and, if suitable, for publication. The division sponsors fellows to attend at least one national meeting per year.

Trainees at Jefferson are intimately involved in educating Jefferson medical students, residents, and visitors from other institutions. Fellows organize and participate actively in numerous divisional educational experiences, including:

• Journal Club
• Literature Review
• Pathophysiology Conference
• Clinical Case Conference
• GI Grand Rounds
• GI Research Conference
• Quality Assurance Conference
• Inflammatory Bowel Disease Conference
• GI Pathology Conference
• GI Radiology Conference
• Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Conference
• Interdisciplinary Conference That Includes GI/Surgery/Radiology/Pathology

In addition to GI grand rounds and GI research conference, each year a nationally recognized gastroenterologist or hepatologist is invited to be the James L.A. Roth Visiting Professor at Sidney Kimmel Medical College. This three-day program includes grand rounds, lectures, case presentations, and informal seminars.

Fellows are formally evaluated by faculty on their:

• Clinical judgment
• Medical knowledge
• History taking
• Physical examination
• Procedure skills
• Humanistic qualities
• Professional attitudes and behavior
• Medical care
• Self-motivated learning
• Overall clinical competency

These written evaluations are discussed with the trainees on a regular basis. Fellows also evaluate faculty members on their availability, organization, teaching skills, fund of knowledge, and interpersonal relationships. They also have the opportunity to evaluate the training program's overall quality, diversity of patient population, quality of teaching programs, structure and/or organization of the program, opportunity for and the quality of research experience and preparation for their future career.