Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism Clinical Training

During the fellow's clinical training, he/she evaluates patients with a wide range of endocrine disorders: thyroid diseases (including fine needle aspiration of thyroid nodules and radioactive iodine therapy for hyperthyroidism and thyroid cancer), metabolic bone disorders (osteoporosis, osteomalacia, Paget's disease), hyper- and hypocalcemia, hyperandrogenism in women, sexual dysfunction and infertility, diabetes mellitus, male hypogonadism, endocrine causes of hypertension (Cushing's syndrome, hyperaldosteronism, pheochromoctyoma), and pituitary dysfunction.

First year fellows will become well versed in the management of medically complex hospitalized patients with a broad range of endocrine disorders through rotations on 3 inpatient consult services, including Endocrinology and Diabetes services at HUP and a combined Endocrine/Diabetes Consult services at the VAMC.

A major portion of the clinical effort in the fellowship program is devoted to evaluation and treatment of patients in an ambulatory care setting. Ambulatory training is provided to the Fellows in EDM through active participation throughout their period of training in subspecialty endocrine clinics at each of the three hospitals in the program, in which both new and continuity patients are seen. These ambulatory care venues provide exposure to an economically and ethnically diverse spectrum of individuals with diseases and syndromes across the entire spectrum of endocrine and metabolic problems.

First Year Ambulatory Experiences:

All first year fellows are assigned to three to four weekly clinics depending upon their rotation.

Second Year Ambulatory Experiences:

Research pathway fellows maintain a weekly endocrine continuity clinic of their choice, which may be composed of two six-month consecutive blocks in two different clinic settings. Clinical educator fellows have a total of four weekly clinics, one of which is focused on the care of diabetic patients, and the others are selected by the fellow. One weekly session will be at the VAMC.  All weekly clinics must be at least of six month duration to be considered continuity clinics.

Additional Ambulatory Rotation Experiences:

Third and fourth year fellows (required by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) for fellows in the ABIM Research pathway who complete only two years of an internal medicine residency prior to commencement of fellowship) maintain a weekly continuity clinic, which may be composed of two six-month consecutive blocks in two different clinic settings.