Clinical Experience

Fellows rapidly acquire skills in endoscopic procedures during the first year of the program through endoscopic simulation and hands-on procedures.

Inpatient Service and Clinics

The clinical experiences of the Transplant Hepatology Fellowship are designed to provide excellent comprehensive clinical training to equip graduates with the skills required to care for complex liver disease.

• Six months of inpatient service which will mimic the schedule of the attending hepatologist
  • Two half-day clinics for general hepatology patients and will staff all the patients with the transplant hepatology attending.
  • One half-day of endoscopy procedures including inpatient and outpatient hepatology patients
• Twice weekly transplant clinic when not on inpatient service
• Outpatient liver transplant evaluations during all rotations
• Five months of inpatient service-free time for research and quality improvement initiatives integrated throughout the fellowship

The transplant hepatology fellow will additionally participate in a weekly conference to discuss pre-transplant listed patients and post-transplant outpatients who are less than a year post-transplant and/or have complex post-transplant care needs. The fellow will have the opportunity to lead discussion for all inpatients when on inpatient service as well as present all candidate evaluations. This conference is attended by all transplant hepatology attendings, transplant surgeons, transplant physician assistants, general hepatology nurse practitioners, general hepatology and transplant coordinators as well as multidisciplinary support staff.

Procedures

The transplant hepatology fellow will perform at minimum 15 percutaneous liver biopsies per the ACGME requirement; however, opportunity for additional experience will be available given the large volume of liver biopsies performed annually at our institution.  Additionally, the transplant hepatology fellow will participate in half day endoscopy blocks while on service, providing regular opportunity to strengthen standard and advanced endoscopy skills including EGD, colonoscopy, variceal banding, and sclerotherapy.

Clinical Team

The fellow works collaboratively with all members of the team:

• Transplant hepatology attending
• Transplant surgery attending
• Transplant surgery physician assistants
• General hepatology nurse practitioners
• Residents
• Transplant and general hepatology coordinators
• Transplant pharmacists
• Transplant dieticians
• Social workers

Fellows actively participate in procedures throughout fellowship.

Expected average experience over three years - procedural totals: