The Advanced Endoscopy Fellowship program is designed to provide training in the skills that will be required for successful pursuit of a career as a therapeutic endoscopist in an academic setting.  The objective of the program will be to prepare fellows to assume faculty positions where they will be capable of developing independent clinical and research programs in advanced endoscopy.

 

This is a one-year program devoted to the clinical and clinical research training of an advanced fellow in either pancreatico-biliary diseases or endoscopic ultrasound at Duke University Medical Center and the Durham VA Medical Center. The training year will begin in July and fellows will only be eligible once they have completed a standard three-year gastroenterology fellowship and are board eligible.  The advanced trainee will participate in all of the educational activities available to fellows in our standard gastroenterology training program including case conference, GI Grand Rounds, GI Journal Club, basic research conferences, medical-surgical conferences, and pathology conferences.  During these activities fellows are exposed to a wide range of clinical and research experiences.

 

There are two tracks for the advanced endoscopy fellowship:  pancreatico-biliary (Biliary fellow) and endoscopic ultrasound (EUS fellow).  During the application process the fellow will be expected to indicate the track for which they are interested in applying.  During the advanced training year, the fellow will also gain some experience in the track which was not their primary choice.  However, if an applicant is interested in completing comprehensive training in both EUS and ERCP, two years of training will be required.  When applying, please let the program director know if you are interested in this possibility.

 

The fellow will have a mentor who is a member of our therapeutic endoscopy faculty.  The trainee, however, may also work closely with other faculty members with reaserach expertise in areas such as biostatistics and outcomes research.  Fellows will spend a substantial portion of their time devoted to clinical research on a topic related to pancreatico-biliary diseases or EUS.  Their clinical training will be primarily in either pancreatico-biliary diseases (Biliary fellow) or clinical issues pertinent to EUS (EUS fellow).  Procedural experience will be fundamental part of this training; the overall management of patients in the inpatient and outpatient setting is, however, a core part of the training.  The fellow may also gain exposure to some other advanced endoscopic procedures such as endoscopic mucosal resection, PDT, fundoplication and placement of enteral stents.

 

Early in theyear the fellow will work closely with a mentor(s) to develop and execute a clinical research project.  During theis time, fellows will continue formal didactic training and if interested may have the opportunity to participate in specific formal course work offered through the University on topics such as statistics, epidemiology, and other aspects of clinical research design.

 

Fellows will aslo participate in various clinical activities (inpatient consult service, endoscopy sessions, clinic) relating to the general practice of the division of gastroenterology as directed by the clinical chief of Gastroenterology.  These activities willbe for a minority of the one year training period (3 months) and may include on-call activities and other assigned responsibilities within the division.

 

 

 

The fellows will be interacting primarily with the following faculty:

 

 

 

 

Alejandra Castillo-Roth, M.D.

Saurabh Gupta, M.D.

Stephen Philcox, M.B.B.S.

 

 

The schedule for the year is somewhat flexible and is not always the same form year to year.  Some of the training may take place at the Durham VA Medical Center.  The following outline is a representative example of the schedule:

 

Biliary service 6 months

General GI 2-3 months

EUS exposure 2-3 months

Researc 1-2 months

 

EUS service 6 months

General GI 2-3 months

Biliary exposure 2-3 months

Research 1-2 months

 

 

 

 

 

Completion in an accredited gastroenterology fellowship program (or equivalent for international fellows) and an interest in pursuing an academic career are prerequisites for all candidates.  Successful applicants receive a faculty appointment as a Medical Instructor in Medicine.  We are therefore not able to consider applicants on a J1 VISA.  Applicants must have a H1B VISA, green card or be a US citizen.  Candidates for the program are selected on the basis of written applications and personal interviews.

 

 

12-1-2009    First date to offer interviews

4-15-2009    First date to offer a position

7-1-2011      Fellowship start date

 

 

Please direct all application related correspondence to:

 

Dr. Paul Jowell, Fellowship Director

c/o Jill M. Rimmer

Advanced Fellowship Coordinator

Duke University Medical Center

Division of Gastroenterology

P.O. Box 3913

Durham, North Carolina  27710