Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition Fellowship

The overarching goal of the post-doctoral fellowship program in Pediatric Gastroenterology/Hepatology at Yale is to equip the subspecialty residents with the clinical and research skills to become independent and productive academic pediatric gastroenterologists. Yale University has a prestigious pediatric gastroenterology fellowship training program. Yale fellowship training program in pediatric gastroenterology was first established in 1988 by Dr. Frederick Suchy, and since then, the Yale University School of Medicine has pioneered the training of academic scholars. NIH support was first obtained in 1990 with training focused on developmental gastroenterology first with Dr Frederick Suchy as the PI (1990-1996), then with Dr. Susan Moyer as the PI (1996-2002). Currently Dr. Uma Phatak is the fellowship director.

Former fellows of our program have gone on to hold positions as Section Chief, Director of Pediatric Liver Center, and Residency Program Director in medical schools and hospitals across the country as well as becoming independent NIH-funded investigators. Our program is highly competitive and ranks among the top training programs in US for placing fellows in academic positions. All of the fellows in the program participate in laboratory and patient-oriented research during years 2 and 3. The training environment and program are highly developed, exposing trainees to the full spectrum of pediatric gastrointestinal diseases while maintaining the strong tradition of providing outstanding opportunities for research training.

Our program enrolls one fellow/year. Fellows enter the program after completing three years of residency in pediatrics and are expected to commit three (or more) years to our postdoctoral program. We accept one candidate into the program each year for combined clinical and research training.

The program is designed to allow postdoctoral fellows to experience a continuum of learning in both clinical gastroenterology/hepatology and research over three years. Throughout the training, fellows are exposed to a variety of children with complicated gastrointestinal and liver problems. Similarly, the complexity of contemporary research, both clinical and basic, requires the progressive acquisition of research skills and sufficient time to become familiar with an expert in research technologies. Consequently, the Pediatric Gastroenterology/Hepatology Program allows intense clinical experience during all three years as well as an early introduction to laboratory and clinical research in the first year of the program.

At Yale, fellows acquire clinical experience throughout their training. The first year fellow spends most of the time on the inpatient and outpatient clinical service and learns various aspects of clinical practice of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Second and third year fellows continue their clinical experience during the research years. They attend Gastroenterology and Hepatology clinics on a weekly basis. They also continue to perform procedures and take calls on regular basis.

Fellows participate in the diagnosis and management of patients on gastroenterology service, liver transplant service, as a consult to patients on pediatric, oncology or surgical services and in the pediatric ICU, and neonatal ICU. Fellows learn to handle various emergencies and very complicated patients with gastrointestinal and liver disorders. Fellows participate in outpatient GI/Hepatology clinics under the supervision of the faculty. This clinical training allows the fellows to gain experience and competency in managing common and chronic pediatric gastrointestinal, nutritional and liver problems including transplantation.

Fellows receive extensive training in diagnostic workup (including endoscopy, colonoscopy, pH probe studies, motility studies and liver biopsy), as well as therapeutic endoscopy (including sclerotherapy, band ligation, foreign body removal, esophageal dilation, endoscopic injections and polypectomy).

Fellows also participate in the care of children with liver transplants. Yale has a very active liver transplant program. More than 60 children have received liver transplant since 2007.

Yale University is well known for its cutting-edge research activities and offers exciting educational courses to enrich an academic career. Fellows have opportunity to enroll in a degree course, such as Master in Health Sciences. Fellows spend two years in research activities. The research opportunities include clinical, translational, laboratory and quality improvement research.

It is our belief that the acquisition of high quality research skills is fundamental to a viable long-term career in academic medicine. We have assembled a group of preceptors for research training which is broad based and represents some of the most outstanding investigators with expertise in a broad range of biomedical disciplines relevant to pediatric GI/Hepatology research.

The choice of a particular preceptor and project is the most important decision facing each fellow. It is the philosophy of the program that preceptors should be chosen by trainees rather than assigned. Each fellow is provided with extensive help in the form of information, advice and time to make a careful and deliberate selection of preceptor and project. Each January, the first-year fellow has limited clinical responsibilities and so has more time and opportunities to meet with the faculty whose research programs are of possible interest to them.

A formal Scholarship Oversight Committee (SOC) is established to mentor and guide each fellow in the first year. SOC is composed of at least 3 individuals i.e., the primary mentor supervising the fellow’s scholarly activity, a mentor for the fellow’s clinical and general career development, and a mentor with expertise in the particular area of scholarship that is being pursued by the fellow. Often there are additional mentors who are also members of SOC. The specific goals of SOC are:

• To meet with the fellow at least 2 times a year. If there are concerns with the fellow's progress, meetings are expected to occur more frequently.
• Complete evaluation/progress reports after each meeting to assess progress and detail accomplishments.
• Review and approve the proposed research plan for first year fellows.
• Attend the Thursday morning conferences to hear their fellow's presentations.
• Evaluate the fellow's written product of scholarly activity.

• Our fellowship program accepts applicants with U.S. citizenship, green card (permanent residence Visa), or J1 Visa. Foreign medical graduates must have a valid ECFMG certificate.
• Our institutional Graduate Medical Education and ACGME accreditation requirements specify that all applicants must be board eligible/certified in pediatrics as determined by the American Board of Pediatrics.
• We will accept USMLE or COMLEX scores, but USMLE is preferred.
• We accept the common application available through ERAS online and participate in the National Residency Matching Program Interviews for selected applicants are held on Mondays from September through November for the position starting in July of the next year.
• We require at least 3, and no more than 4, letters of recommendation.
• A letter from the Residency Director and leadership in the Section of Gastroenterology/Hepatology at the applicant’s hospital is highly recommended.