The Division of Pediatric Endocrinology at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh is responsible for a diverse clinical spectrum of approximately 11,000 endocrine and 5,500 diabetes patient visits per year to the outpatient Diabetes Center.
First Year
The first year of the endocrinology fellowship provides intensive clinical training in both the inpatient and outpatient setting. The first-year fellow rotates between three blocks: Inpatient Diabetes and Endocrine Service, Endocrine Consult Service, and Outpatient Clinic. Fellows also have one month of protected research time during the first year during which time they interview potential mentors and plan their research project for the second and third years.
The Inpatient Diabetes and Endocrine service cares for patients with primary endocrine problems who require inpatient hospitalization. This includes the care of children with newly diagnosed diabetes, diabetic emergencies, hypoglycemia, adrenal insufficiency/crisis, and evaluation and management of diabetes insipidus. The fellow will work closely with the attending physician, resident team, and other members of the diabetes team (diabetes nurse educators, dieticians, social workers, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants).
The Endocrine Consult Service provides care for patients with a variety of endocrine disorders who are in the emergency department or who are admitted to inpatient medical services, NICU, and PICU. This allows our fellows to have exposure to a wide range of both common and rare medical cases.
During the Outpatient Clinic rotations, fellows will see patients in their Endocrine and Diabetes Continuity Clinics under direct supervision of our faculty physicians. Fellows will have three Endocrine Continuity Clinics per month and two Diabetes Continuity Clinics per month. During the remainder of this rotation, fellows rotate through general endocrine clinic as well as our multiple endocrine subspecialty clinics, which include: Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia, Metabolic Bone, Prader Willi, Cancer Survivorship, Thyroid Disorders, PCOS, Gender Concerns, and Lipid Clinics.
Second and Third Years
All fellows are expected to have a Scholarly Oversight Committee (SOC). Members of the SOC will include the fellow’s primary mentor and 3-5 senior faculty members with expertise relevant to the fellow’s individual project.
During the third year, fellows will spend 4 weeks primarily on the clinical services. This time will be divided into inpatient (Diabetes and Consult) and outpatient services.
Research Track
The second and third years are devoted to basic, clinical, or translational research supervised by a mentor of the fellow’s choosing. The fellow is expected to design and conduct a hypothesis-driven research project under the mentorship of a faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh. Fellows are expected to write and submit at least one manuscript to a peer-reviewed journal. They are also expected to attend and submit their research for presentation at national meetings (American Diabetes Association, Endocrine Society, Pediatric Endocrine Society). Fellows will continue to have both Endocrine and Diabetes Continuity Clinics during the second and third years. In addition, they will spend one clinic per month working with a faculty member in an endocrine subspecialty clinic to further develop their clinical skills.
Clinician Educator Track
The second and third year fellows will complete a research project with a focus on clinical research, quality improvement, or medical education and will comply with ABP and ACGME standards. There will be additional clinical time (both inpatient and outpatient) to fine tune clinical skills to prepare fellows for a career as a clinician educator.