The Vanderbilt Pediatric Endocrinology Fellowship program is a three-year fellowship program preparing graduates to practice the clinical science of pediatric endocrinology and diabetes and to develop an area of expertise in clinical or basic research. The American Council of Graduate Medical Education has accredited the fellowship program since 1981.
Clinical Training
The pediatric endocrinology fellowship provides an unparalleled training experience in clinical endocrinology. There are about 19,000 outpatient visits in the pediatric endocrinology and diabetes clinics each year. Over 2,000 children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes are followed in the Children's Diabetes Program, and nearly 300 children are referred each year with newly diagnosed Type 1 diabetes. In addition to adequate exposure to common pediatric endocrine conditions, we also evaluate and care for hundreds of children with the rarest endocrine and genetic disorders.
During the training program, fellows will take a total of 24 weeks of inpatient service and home call. In a typical curriculum, fellows take 12 call weeks in the first year and six in each of the remaining two. We also note that training needs may vary, and we routinely adjust the curriculum to meet the specific needs of our fellows. All fellows have a half-day of continuity clinic each week that lasts all three years and includes both endocrine and diabetes patients. First year fellows received additional training by participating in attending outpatient clinics for four additional half-days each week. Second and third year fellows have no responsibility for outpatient clinic beyond their own continuity clinic. In addition to endocrine and diabetes clinics, the training program also accommodates special clinical interests including the opportunity to train clinically in genetics, lipid metabolism, obesity, adolescent gynecology, cancer survivorship, and other special interest areas.
Research Training
Vanderbilt University has a long tradition of excellence in research and innovation in areas related to endocrinology and diabetes. This has been recognized with two Nobel Prizes for Physiology or Medicine: Earl Sutherland for his discovery of cyclic AMP and to Stanley Cohen for his discovery of Epidermal Growth Factor. Over 90 principal investigators comprise the Vanderbilt Diabetes Research and Training Center (DRTC), which is the nation's oldest program. These investigators are complemented by hundreds of additional investigators at the multiple colleges at Vanderbilt. Endless opportunities exist for research training in areas related to pediatric endocrinology.
Scholarship and Mentoring
We believe each Vanderbilt trainee requires rigorous training in investigative science to hone critical thinking skills. Our division is dedicated to providing protected time for the pursuit of scholarship. Second-year and third-year fellows are limited to six weeks of call and one half-day of clinic each week. The remainder of the time (about 80 percent) focuses on the development of an area of research interest and expertise. First-year fellows work closely with the division/program director to identify candidate mentors. Research mentors can be selected from faculty at Vanderbilt University and can have either a clinical or basic science focus. Once a research mentor is chosen, the fellow will identify a Scholarship Oversight Committee in accordance with American Board of Pediatrics requirements and will meet with their SOC at least twice yearly. Depending on the interest area and experience of the fellow, some fellows may also desire and benefit from enrolling in the Masters of Public Health or Masters of Science in Clinical Investigation degree programs.
Fellows are expected to compete for intramural and extramural funding and will receive guidance from their research and division mentors in this process. Fellows are also expected to publish regularly in peer-reviewed journals. Recent trainees have received prestigious grants from the Endocrine Fellows Foundation and the NIH. They have also been recognized twice in the last two years with the Elliot Newman Award, which is presented to the top research performed by all housestaff at Vanderbilt.
We will accept applications for 2014 through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) when it opens for the year. We will select two fellows for the 2014 year.
Interview dates for the 2014 fellowship position
January 18
February 8
March 8
All candidates must attend one of these dates. Contact Jennifer Spegal at jennifer.l.spegal@Vanderbilt.Edu if you have questions about our fellowship program.
Our division is extremely proud of our clinical trainees. We know that it is the fellows that make the fellowship. Read about our current fellows and their interests as a window into the outstanding peer group of Vanderbilt trainees. Click here to meet our fellows.
