Welcome | Curriculum | Research Opportunities | Faculty | Application Process

Welcome
Thank you for your interest in the Gastroenterology Fellowship Program (Academic Year 2009-2010) at the Beth Israel Medical Center (BIMC). The Division of Digestive Diseases, under the direction of interim chairman David Clain, M.D., is comprised of 8 full-time faculty members, 1 part-time faculty members and over 40 voluntary faculties who provide clinical and endoscopic expertise in the diagnosis and management of diarrheal diseases, inflammatory bowel disease, swallowing disorders, motility disorders, gastrointestinal malignancies, biliary, pancreatic, and liver diseases. Research into various gastrointestinal and liver diseases, particularly primary biliary cirrhosis and viral hepatitis B and C, is carried out by these faculty members in conjunction with fellows, residents, research associates and coordinators. Drs. Henry Bodenheimer, David Clain, and Albert Min are specifically involved in many clinical trials in the treatment of HBV and HCV infection. While Dr. Brett Bernstein is involved in the study of capsule endoscopy and gastroesophageal disorders. Dr. Brett Bernstein is involved in the study of capsule endoscopy and gastroesophageal disorders, while Dr. Neil Theise is a renowned liver histopathologist with research interest focused in the area of liver pathology and stem cell biology.

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Curriculum
Goals, Objectives & Educational Purpose

The Fellow will:

• Gain an understanding of the anatomy, physiology and pathology of gastrointestinal and liver diseases.
• Acquire a detailed fund of knowledge regarding the natural history, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the major diseases of the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, colon, pancreas, gall bladder, liver and biliary tree.
• Learn how systemic and vascular diseases manifest in the gastrointestinal tract.
• Develop the clinical skills necessary to identify and evaluate patients with gastrointestinal, pancreatic and liver diseases.
• Become proficient in the management of gastrointestinal and liver diseases encountered in hospitalized patients and outpatients.
• Gain competence in a variety of procedures including diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopy, biopsies (mucosal and liver) and motility studies.
• Have a thorough grounding in the principles, application and interpretation of imaging of the digestive tract.
• Acquire a detailed fund of knowledge of the various classes of drugs and vaccines used in gastroenterology including sedation and sedative pharmacology.
• Understand the importance of nutrition, malnutrition and enteral and parenteral feeding.
• Develop skills necessary to design, conduct and evaluate research in gastroenterology.
• Complete a research project leading to a publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
• Adopt a critical approach to the literature pertaining to gastroenterology and hepatology.
• Integrate health promotion, and cultural, socioeconomic, ethical, occupational, environmental, and behavioral issues with medical care.
• Incorporate humanistic health care and patient values at all times.
  

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Inpatient rotation – Petrie Division
Presently, all inpatient rotations are at Beth Israel Medical Center. Both first year fellows will rotate on this service throughout the year. These include the GI Inpatient Service to which patients of full-time faculty or from GI/liver clinics are admitted. The GI/liver Consult Services are also done by first year fellows except for those requiring ERCP. The service is staffed by a faculty who conducts daily rounds with fellows and residents.

Outpatient rotations- Phillips Ambulatory Care Center
During all years of the fellowship, the fellow will spend one half-day in GI clinic and one half-day in Liver clinic each week under the supervision of a faculty member. In addition, the 1st and 2nd-year fellows attend another half-day session (2-3 patients) for a total of about 6 months a year, typically involving those infected with HIV. All outpatients are seen in the Phillips Ambulatory Care Center at 10 Union Square East, Suite 2G

Endoscopic training
Fellows will be trained in diagnostic/therapeutic upper endoscopy, diagnostic/therapeutic colonoscopy, sigmoidoscopy, percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube placement, sclerotherapy, band ligation, endoscopic ultrasound (EUS), and ERCP. The endoscopy unit is located at BI Petrie, 8 Dazian.

Liver transplant – New York University Medical Center
During the second or third year of fellowship, the fellow will rotate for 6 weeks at the New York University Liver Transplant program under Dr. Lewis Teperman.

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Conferences

Fellows are expected to attend all conferences, which include the GI Grand Round, Journal Club, GI Research Conference, and Morbidity and Mortality conference. Fellows will also participate in the “Didactics in Pathophysiology Seminar”, a comprehensive series of talks given by GI fellows under the supervision of an attending physician.

Conference Schedule

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Research Opportunities

• Henry C .Bodenheimer, Jr., MD: Hepatitis C, Primary Biliary Cirrhosis, Liver Transplant.
• Brett Bernstein, MD: Capsule Endoscopy, Esophageal Disorders
• David J. Clain, MD: Hepatitis C and Chronic Liver Disease
• Albert D. Min, MD: Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Liver Transplant
• Neil D. Theise, MD: Liver Pathology, Stem Cell Research, Liver Transplant
  

Faculty

Part-Time Faculty
Alvin Gelb, M.D. - Former Chief of Division

Beth Israel Singer Division Faculty
Jerome Siegel, M.D. - ERCP, Endoscopy
Seth Cohen, M.D. - ERCP, Endoscopy, GI Consult
Franklin Kasmin, M.D. - ERCP, Endoscopy, GI Consult

Application Process

The Gastroenterology Fellowship Program participates in ERAS-Electronic Residency Application Service and NRMP-National Resident Match Program.

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Contact

For any additional information regarding the fellowship program, please contact:

Felicia Singletary, Fellowship Coordinator
Telephone: (212) 420-4077
Fax: (212) 420-2912
Email: fsinglet@chpnet.org