Nephrology Fellowship
About the Program
The renal fellowship program began in 1966 and since then has trained
more than 50 fellows. The passage rate for the certifying examination
in nephrology given by the American Board of Internal Medicine is
90% (100% in the last four years). The fellowship is a two-year
program with an optional third year of training possible for individuals
wishing to continue research projects or to add specialization in
renal transplantation or critical care medicine.
Clinical Training
Clinical training is the focus of the first year of fellowship
and consists of four months on the Rhode Island Hospital Consult
Service, three months on the Rhode Island Hospital Dialysis and
Transplantation Service, and three months on The Miriam Hospital
Renal Service. In addition, a two-month block experience is provided
in outpatient dialysis, pediatric nephrology, hypertension management
and renal pathology. Full exposure to all aspects of clinical nephrology
is assured by an annual patient load of 750 inpatient consultations,
2,000 outpatient visits and 3,000 to 3,600 hemodialyses. Thirty
to forty renal biopsies and a large number of internal jugular and
femoral vein line placements are performed annually. Chronic peritoneal
dialysis, continuous arteriovenous hemofiltration and plasmapheresis
are also part of the program. In addition, fellows perform renal
consultations on obstetric and gynecologic patients at Women &
Infants Hospital and on pediatric cases at Rhode Island Hospital's
pediatric facility, Hasbro Children's Hospital.
Renal transplantation began at Rhode Island Hospital in early 1997.
Presently clinical training in renal transplantation involves evaluation
of prospective transplant recipients and donors, care of patients
during the posttransplant period, longitudinal follow-up of stable
recipients and management of complications of transplantation in
both the office and hospital settings. Check the application requirements.
Scholarly Research
Scholarly research is the main focus of the second year of fellowship.
Faculty members selected by the fellows work with them to plan clinical
or laboratory projects, and to provide training and guidance during
the course of their studies. The project gives the fellow in-depth
knowledge in a specific area of nephrology and hopefully will yield
worthwhile findings that can be published in the medical literature
Conferences
Conferences are scheduled four times per week. Each week they include
a case management conference for discussion of interesting clinical
cases, a journal club and renal grand rounds, consisting of talks
by faculty, fellows and invited speakers. In addition, there are
monthly basic science, transplant, clinic, and renal pathology conferences.
A 12-week introductory lecture series in basic nephrology is given
each summer for new fellows and a short course in medical statistics
is provided for second year fellows.
Teaching
Teaching nephrology to interns, residents and medical students
is an important part of the fellows' training. This involves informal
contacts on the wards, and formal lectures to residents and Brown
University medical students who choose the renal elective.
Call Schedule
Call schedule for fellows is one out of every fourth night and
one out of every fourth weekend. Night call is taken by long-range
pager or from home, and mainly involves handling problems by telephone,
although fellows may go to the hospital for an emergency consultation
or dialysis.
Benefits
Benefits for fellows include four weeks of vacation time, disability
insurance and life insurance. Several health insurance plans for
individuals, couples and families are available. Fellows contribute
to the cost of the elected coverage through payroll deductions.
The option to purchase dental insurance is also available. Details
may be obtained through Rhode Island Hospital records and benefits
office.
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Fellowship Program
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