Fellows have 2 dedicated weekly conference times: Tuesday afternoon sessions (12 pm to 1 pm) and Friday morning sessions (8 AM to 1 PM). Within our Pediatric Endocrinology Fellowship, educational activity formats include didactic lectures, problem-based learning sessions, game-based learning, workshops, board review, and more.
Pediatric Endocrinology Fellowship Program
Clinical Pediatric Endocrinology Syllabus
Our syllabus exposes fellows to a rigorous didactic course that encompasses all the major areas in pediatric endocrinology, endocrine genetics, physiology, and diabetes mellitus. Faculty clinicians and invited guest lecturers lead seminars/lectures that highlight clinical care and physiology alongside the review and discussion of foundational and emergent research literature. Each seminar/lecture typically focuses on specific topics such as:
- Dr. John Pemberton’s invited talk, “Activity and Exercise are Different Things--Especially if You Live with Type 1 Diabetes”
- Dr. Stephen Waguespack’s invited talk, “Pediatric Thyroid Carcinoma: Recent Advances in Diagnosis and Initial Treatment"
- Dr. Juhi Kumar’s invited talk, “CKP-Mineral and Bone Disorders"
- Faculty and/or Fellow-led Review Sessions on everything from diabetes early diagnosis/ management technology to Lipid Metabolism
Pediatric Endocrine Faculty members participate alongside fellows to facilitate conversations regarding advances in basic science and clinical tools. Fellows present their own didactic lectures reviewing pertinent subject material at least once every year.
Pediatric Endocrine Clinical Conference
The Pediatric Endocrinology faculty, fellows, residents on rotation, and medical students participate in this weekly patient-oriented interactive case discussion on Tuesdays. This Conference provides fellows with an opportunity to discuss real-time cases using actual patient health information with the larger care teams. Fellows often develop clinical case reports and patient population research from these conferences that can grow into research specializations.
Pediatric Endocrine Research Conferences
Research conferences focus on discovery in the context of clinical, basic, and translational research. One or two research conferences are held each month. We have particularly developed the Training Endocrine/Diabetes Scholars (TEDS) Talks initiative that focuses on how to conduct and write research across all 3 fellowship years. Faculty members, invited lecturers, and/ or fellows provide interactive workshops of 15-20 minutes of didactics followed by 60-75 minutes of facilitated peer discussion of fellows’ works in progress. Multiple fellows have utilized knowledge & peer review from Research Bootcamp/TEDS Talk to publish/present their research, advancing their future careers as research-clinicians.
Pediatric Endocrine Journal Club
All fellows and faculty are required to participate in monthly Journal Club. Fellows have the primary responsibility for choosing and presenting the article(s) under the supervision of a faculty mentor. Through these sessions, trainees acquire medical/scientific knowledge, learn critical analytic skills, and facilitate discussion of translational implications.
Board Review
The pediatric endocrinology fellows have established an independent weekly meeting to review all topics in pediatric endocrinology in preparation for the Pediatric Endocrinology Board Examination.
Optional Educational Opportunities
University-wide Endocrine Conference
Hosted by the University of Pittsburgh, this unique weekly combined conference includes pediatric, adult, and reproductive endocrinologists at 8 am on Fridays. Guest endocrine scholars are invited to present on everything from research to updates on clinical topics.
Focused-Fellows Curriculum
All UPMC Children’s pediatric subspeciality fellows may take this yearlong course that covers instruction in basic science techniques and clinical research. Topics include Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) subjects, IRB applications, grant writing, advocacy skills, networking, communication skills, quality improvement (QI), and wellness.
Children's Hospital Pediatric Molecular Medicine Research Seminar Series
Presented by outstanding invited speakers, Department of Pediatrics faculty, and faculty from other departments, these one-hour presentations focus on the latest advances in basic and translational research. This conference is held weekly on Tuesdays at noon. Fellows and faculty from across UPMC participate frequently in these conferences.
Pediatric Grand Rounds
This weekly conference features local and prominent guest speakers presenting topics relevant to pediatrics. You can view past lectures here.
Zitelli Rounds
This is a multidisciplinary case conference of rare cases led by the pediatrics residents. Endocrine faculty and fellows participate as consulting specialists on cases to assist with the diagnostic evaluation and interpretation of laboratory findings while also sharing important teaching points.
Teaching Opportunities
In the Division of Pediatric Endocrinology, fellows actively participate in medical education activities. Fellows may teach residents at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and medical students at the University of Pittsburgh. Fellows may also participate in bedside teaching as well as teaching endocrine topics to the inpatient team and other departments.