By tailoring the structure to the needs of the fellow, we are able to successfully guide a fellow into the career path that best aligns with their interests.
First Year
The first year of the training program is devoted to intensive clinical training in gastroenterology.
Inpatient:
The entire first year is spent on the GI Consult Service at New York Presbyterian Hospital (Columbia University Medical Center).One month of vacation time is required.
Outpatient:
All fellows attend weekly continuity GI & Liver Clinic. Patients seen in this clinic have a wide-range of digestive and hepatology disorders. The fellows are responsible for following their own patients and for performing necessary procedures under the supervision of an attending physician.
Call:
Weeknight home call at NYP-Milstein Hospital is divided equally between the four first year fellows. Weekend call at Milstein averages one weekend a month. There is no overnight in-hospital call.
Second and Third Years
The second and third year of the training program is, to a larger degree, tailored to fit the career interests of the individual fellow. There are four tracks to pursue: basic science track, clinical-investigation/Masters track, clinical track/master clinician, and clinical educator. Mandatory rotations include GI consult service at the Allen Hospital (3 months total spread over second and third year), Transplant Hepatology (2 months in the second year), and Nutrition Service (1 month either second or third year).
Other clinical electives such as Motility, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Biliary/Advanced Endoscopy, Barrett's esophagus, Small bowel disease/Celiac Disease Center, GI genetics, and Bariatrics are also available. The requirements can be adjusted to facilitate long blocks of time devoted to basic science research for fellows with goals of becoming physician scientists. Those fellows in the clinical-investigation track apply to the Patient Oriented Research Program at the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health and obtain an MS during their fellowship training. On average up to 2 fellows can be supported to obtain the Masters degree. The Master Clinician track is devoted to in-depth exposure to outpatient GI electives, and the clinical educator track provides additional involvement in medical education at the medical school and post-graduate level.
The Division has been awarded an NIH T32 grant. The aim of this program is to promote the development of promising physician scientists (M.D. and M.D., Ph, D.), postdoctoral fellows, or clinical investigators as independent investigators and future university faculty members in the area of digestive and liver diseases.
Outpatient Clinic:
Half day of GI and Liver continuity clinic continues
Call:
Weeknight and weekend call at the Allen Hospital is evenly divided between the 8 upper year fellows, averaging 1 weekend every other month.
Procedural Training:
Fellows acquire proficiency in all basic GI procedures by the end of the fellowship (EGD, colonoscopy, flexible sigmoidoscopy, PEG, hemostasis, polypectomy). During the second and third years, may gain exposure to advanced techniques and procedures like ERCP, EUS, endoscopic mucosal resection, fine needle aspiration, stent placement for luminal strictures, EMR, and suturing. This experience may not result in certification, however, as these typically require a 4th year of training. The interventional GI program has two advanced fellows.
