Allergy and Immunology Fellowship

Second Year of Fellowship Overview

The second year is largely focused on pursuit of scholarly activity and education. Second year fellows will continue to attend the Pediatric and Adult Continuity Clinics as well as the Immunodeficiency clinic and electives which are in line with their career interests. They will also spend one month performing consults on hospitalized adults with allergic and immunologic diseases at the UCH under the direct supervision of the adult allergists at UCH.

Second Year Outpatient Clinics

The major clinical goal during the second year is for the fellow to develop increasing expertise in the diagnosis and management of allergic and immunologic disorders in both children and adults. They will attend three one half day clinics during their second year, which include: 

• Pediatric Allergy Continuity Clinic
• Adult Allergy Continuity Clinic
• Immunodeficiency Clinic (2 months)
• Electives tailored to fellow career interest

Second Year Inpatient Experience

Each fellow will provide 6 weeks of coverage for the inpatient allergy & immunology consult service at Children’s Hospital Colorado. 

Each fellow will spend one month on the Adult Allergy Consult Service at UCH. During this rotation, fellows will: 

• Develop knowledge and skills in working with and instructing primary care providers in adult allergy, asthma, and immunology care
• Continue to develop expertise in interacting, as a consultant with primary care providers
• Provide consultation for patients admitted with immunologic, allergic and asthmatic diseases
• Perform drug allergy testing and desensitizations.
• An attending from the UCH always available for guidance and backup of all consults.

Education

We have a robust educational curriculum which utilizes varied teaching formats to cover all fundamental Allergy & Immunology topics as described below:

Fellow Introductory Series "Boot Camp"

Clinically oriented lecture series in July and August which provide fellows with the fundamental knowledge needed when caring for patients with Allergic and Immunologic concerns.

2022 Fellowship Introductory Series

Wednesday Afternoon Teaching Sessions

Our weekly half day academic sessions occur September through June and provide a more in depth look at the literature and management of complex patients with Allergy and Immunologic diagnoses through the following teaching formats:

Updated Curriculum

Case Conference Series:

• Cased based discussion with input from fellows as well as faculty.  Both formal and informal formats are utilized including fellow formal presentations.

Formal Didactics:

• A traditional lecture given by Allergy & Immunology faculty as well as faculty members outside our section who have expertise in key areas which have overlap with our field (i.e. evaluation in severe asthma, auto-inflammatory diseases etc.)

Board Review Series:

• A structured board review which incorporates board review material from the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology and American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, reading materials from core educational texts (Abbas Cellular and Molecular Immunology) and teaching sessions with faculty, all designed to help fellows pass the American Board of Allergy and Immunology (ABAI) exam. Procedural Curriculum
• A series of sessions which includes formal teaching on procedures in allergy & immunology as well as a hands-on component.  Fellows are additionally observed performing procedures by faculty to ensure competence. Topics include skin prick testing; pulmonary function testing; immunoglobulin replacement therapy, mixing of allergen immunotherapies, contact dermatitis/patch testing; allergy immunotherapy prescription and oral immunotherapy.

Career Development Curriculum: Career Readiness Curriculum

• A 6-part series to provide our fellows with an understanding on the types of faculty positions within our field and how to be a competitive applicant.

Journal Club:

• Allows fellows to explore a subject more in-depth by reviewing and discussing key articles on the topic, led by a faculty member.
  • Adult Journal Club meets weekly.
  • Pediatric Journal Club meets monthly.
    

Miscellaneous:

• Colorado Allergy and Asthma Society (CAAS):
  • Fellows are encouraged to join the Colorado Allergy and Asthma Society who hosts 7 lectures throughout the year covering a broad range of topics from nationally prominent speakers.
  • Denver Allergy Rounds is held weekly with the speaker at CAAS also providing a lecture

Additional Learning Opportunities

Subspecialty Excellence in Educational Leadership & Scholarship (SEELS) Program

• The University of Colorado Department of Pediatrics is proud to offer the Subspecialty Excellence in Educational Leadership & Scholarship (SEELS) Program for subspecialty pediatric fellows committed to an academic career in medical education.
• The SEELS program guides fellows through an 18-month program that   provides research mentorship, coaching, and instruction.
• The overall goal of SEELS is to equip these fellows with the necessary knowledge/skills/attitudes for success as future medical educators through educational scholarship and professional identity development, faculty and peer mentorship, and engaging in an educational community of practice.

Pediatric Fellowship Educational Series

This educational series has been developed by the Committee on Fellowship Education to address areas of scholarly interest common to all pediatric fellows. Nearly 100 sub-specialized physicians in training will attend 5-6 half-day seminars spread across their 3 years of fellowship. 

• Attendance is mandatory and the trainee is excused from clinical responsibilities.
• In addition to providing core educational material, these sessions allow trainees in different disciplines and throughout the department to meet and interact with one another in an informal and collegial environment.
• Occurs several times per year throughout fellowship with fellows of different subspecialties

Pediatric Biostatistics for Clinicians Courses

This course is primarily intended for 2nd and 3rd year Department of Pediatrics fellows as part of the comprehensive fellowship educational program. Designed to help fellows to develop an ability to be a critical consumer of the literature and develop familiarity with many commonly used statistical methods. 

• This course comprises for six  2-hour sessions
• Designed for second year fellows, but any fellow or resident an register for the course.

Advanced Degrees Available at CU

• Masters of Public Health
• Masters of Science in Clinical Science

Research & Scholarly Activities

All fellows participate in scholarly activity under faculty supervision with the goal of providing knowledge of the basic principles of research, including how research is conducted, evaluated, explained to patients, and applied to patient care. 

Fellows regularly present their scholarly activity locally as well as at national meetings such as the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (AAAAI), American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (ACAAI) and Clinical Immunology Society (CIS). 

Scholarly activity can include, but is not limited, to the following: 

• Laboratory based
• Epidemiologic
• Quality Improvement
• Clinical Investigation-Based

We have the following resources to ensure successful fellow scholarly activity: 

Annual Research Symposium

Faculty present on projects (ongoing and future) that would have opportunities for fellow involvement. We encourage fellows to select or design a project which is aligned with their interests.

Scholarly Oversight Committee

Functions to oversee that fellow scholarly projects are appropriate and meeting expectations for graduation. Comprised of Research and Fellowship Leadership Faculty

Protected Time

Fellows have a 3-month block in their first year with less clinical responsibilities to focus on scholarly activity. A larger part of the second year is protected and dedicated to progression of their scholarly project.

Protocol Development Workshop

Fellows are encouraged to apply fort his hands-on workshop through the CU graduate school.

Second Year Research Expectations 

A high quality clinical or basic science research experience is the major goal of the second year of fellowship and will account for the majority the Fellow’s efforts. 

• Every Second Year Fellow is expected to present their research at a regional or national meeting and have a manuscript ready for submission by the end of their Second Year.  They will also be encouraged to write case reports, and to assist the Attending’s in writing book chapters and topical reviews.
• Fellows interested in a career in Academic Medicine will begin planning on submitting grants and/or Career Development Awards with assistance from their Research Mentor.

1st Year Fellows

2nd Year Fellows

Prior Graduates

In the past, approximately 50% of our graduates pursue private practice and 50% pursue academic positions. While we are a pediatric based program, given the robust clinical experience in adult allergy & immunology, many of our graduates are successfully seeing patients of all ages.

2017

• Private Practice Boulder Medical Center.  Pediatric and Adult Patients
• Private Practice Allergy & Asthma Center of Southern Oregon

2018

• Academic. University of Utah. Pediatric and Adult patients
• Academic. Children’s Hospital of Colorado. Pediatric Patients.

2019 

• Academic. University of Utah. Pediatric and Adult Patients.
• Private Practice. Allergy Associates of Utah. Pediatric and Adult Patients.

2020 

• Academic. University of Utah. Pediatric and Adult patients
• Private Practice. Allergy Associates of Utah. Pediatric and Adult Patients

2021 

• Academic. Joint Appointment Children’s Hospital Colorado and UCHealth. Adult and Pediatric Patients
• Private Practice. Allergy & Immunology Associates of Michigan. Adult and Pediatric Patients.

2022 

• Academic. University of San Francisco School of Medicine. Adult and Pediatric Patients.
• Staying for 3rd year

Application Process: Pediatrics Allergy & Immunology Fellowship Program

The ACGME-accredited University of Colorado Program in Allergy and Immunology is based at Children's Hospital Colorado.  Applications are accepted through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS).

Application Checklist

1. Residency in Pediatrics or Med-Peds
2. ERAS application
3. Personal Statement
4. Curriculum Vitae
5. USMLE Part 1, 2, and 3 scores if taken
6. Medical school transcripts
7. Three letters of recommendation
8. Next Positions Available: 2
9. The University supports H-1B and J-1 visa’s but we are unable to cover costs

ERAS Application Timeline

NRMP Fall Match Timeline

For additional questions: please contact:

Program Director
Maureen Bauer, MD 
maureen.bauer@childrenscolorado.org   

&     

Program Coordinator
Ronda Esquibel 
ronda.esquibel@childrenscolorado.org