Curriculum
The Gastroenterology Fellowship at Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University is a three-year, clinic track, ACGME-accredited program which includes 12 fellows (4 fellows per year). Our mission is simple – to train gastroenterologists to excel in patient care and serve as leaders in the fields of gastroenterology and hepatology by providing them with the best educational tools, most up-to-date facilities and cutting edge technology available.
Year 1
The first year is designed to provide a strong consultative, clinical experience with exposure to the inpatient setting.
Year 1 Blocks:
50% on gastroenterology consult inpatient service
25% on hepatology consult inpatient service
25% on gastroenterology private service
Fellows take an active role in the initial workup, evaluation and management of all patients admitted to the Gastroenterology and Liver Services and are responsible for the evaluation and therapeutic recommendations on all patients referred for consultation. Exposure to endoscopy begins in the first month. Fellows are involved in performing all basic diagnostic and therapeutic procedures such as esophagogastroduodenoscopy, flexible sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy under the direct supervision of the full time Gastroenterology faculty, using state-of-the-art endoscopic equipment. As all of the gastroenterologists at Temple University Hospital are on the academic faculty, the fellows have full teaching access to every patient seen in consultation. Only faculty in the Sections of Gastroenterology and Colorectal Surgery have clinical privileges in the endoscopy suite and hospital. In the second half of the first year, fellows are required to team up with a research mentor to plan and coordinate scholarly activity for the 2nd and 3rd years.
Years 2 and 3
The second year and third years are similar. The training is tailored to each fellow’s clinical and/or research interests.
Year 2 Blocks:
10 weeks – Outpatient endoscopy
8 weeks – Research
6 weeks – Advanced endoscopy/biliary inpatient service
6 weeks – Jeanes Hospital consult service
4 weeks – Outpatient hepatology clinic
4 weeks – Outpatient motility
4 weeks – Outpatient gastroenterology clinic
4 weeks – Elective
2 weeks - Nutrition
Year 3 Blocks:
10 weeks – Outpatient endoscopy
8 weeks – Research
6 weeks – Advanced endoscopy/biliary inpatient service
6 weeks – Jeanes Hospital consult service
6 weeks – Elective
4 weeks – Senior on inpatient gastroenterology consult service
4 weeks – Outpatient hepatology clinic
2 weeks – Outpatient gastroenterology clinic
2 weeks – Oncology
Fellows have the opportunity to build on the consultative and endoscopic experience they have gained in the first year. More time is now spent on a dedicated Endoscopy Rotation where basic endoscopic skills are honed. To supplement basic skills, an Advanced Endoscopy Rotation provides exposure to more advanced endoscopic procedures such as EUS, ERCP, endoscopic mucosal resection, ablative therapies for Barrett’s esophagus, APC therapy for bleeding lesions, dilatation of obstructing benign lesions, device assisted deep enteroscopy, and stenting of malignant GI conditions. One month in the second year is spent in the Motility Lab where fellows acquire hands-on skill in performing and interpreting esophageal and anorectal manometric studies with state-of-the-art High Resolution equipment for a wide range of GI motility disorders. Temple has a national reputation for being a Center of Excellence for Motility Disorders. Often fellows from other GI fellowship programs rotate to Temple for further training under the mentorship of our expert faculty in this area.
Upper year fellows are also allotted elective time which allows the opportunity for greater focus and individual training in an area of particular interest. Electives in Radiology, Surgery, GI faculty outpatient clinics, outside rotations and extra endoscopy, motility and research months are options.
The second and third year provides trainees with experience in research. Fellows are expected to become familiar with a variety of research techniques as well as to develop expertise in a single area of interest. Each research project’s objective is the development of clinical protocols under the supervision of a faculty mentor, the submission of abstracts to local and national meetings, and preparation of original papers for submission to peer-reviewed journals. Second- and third-year fellows present the results of their research projects at local, regional, and national meetings. We have a long and proud tradition of winning awards at these competitions.
Additional Information
Call: We employ a two-tiered system for overnight and weekend call. Primary call is handled by first year fellows from September of the first year through August of the second year. At all times, a senior fellow is on backup call for assistance with difficult questions and help with any urgent endoscopic procedure.
Continuity clinic: All fellows participate in a weekly outpatient Continuity Clinic throughout the three years of fellowship.
Conferences: Temple offers diverse educational opportunities with weekly conferences that are meant to cover the Gastroenterology and Hepatology Core Curriculum and include pathophysiology, journal club, motility, IBD, endoscopy, advanced endoscopy, research, pathology, hepatology, grand rounds, and tumor boards.