Overview

The first year of fellowship is dedicated to acquiring clinical proficiency in both inpatient and outpatient aspects of Pediatric GI/Hepatology/Nutrition. The clinical activities of the first year are based at Children's Hospital Colorado, a 440-bed facility, which is the major teaching hospital for the Department of Pediatrics of the CU SOM. Children's Hospital Colorado is also the pediatric home to the NIH-supported Colorado Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute, housing the Pediatric Clinical Translational Research Center that is available to fellows and faculty to assist with performance of clinical investigations.

The GI/Hepatology/Nutrition service consults on or is the primary attending physician for approximately 5,000 inpatient visits per year and sees over 18,000 outpatient visits per year. Over a one-year period, the GI/Hepatology/Nutrition Section performs almost 5,000 procedures, including approximately 2,750 upper gastrointestinal endoscopies, 800 colonoscopies and flexible sigmoidoscopies, 150 liver biopsies, 50 ERCPs and other gastrointestinal procedures (motility studies, breath hydrogen analyses, esophageal pH studies, esophageal impedance, video capsule endoscopy, etc). The three first-year fellows rotate between the Inpatient Service, Consult Service, and Outpatient /Procedure Services.

Inpatient Training

The fellow performs all in-hospital consultations and supervises the care of all patients admitted to either the GI or the Liver Medical services, under the supervision and mentorship of the attending GI or Liver physician. Emphasis is placed on physical exam skills, developing an accurate differential diagnosis, learning the methods of evaluating and treating the child and assessing the family's needs (family-centered care). Diagnostic procedures required by these patients are performed by the fellow under the supervision of the GI or Liver attending physician. The fellow will be exposed to the full range of GI, liver, pancreatic, and nutritional problems, including acute and chronic diarrhea and colitis, vomiting disorders, esophageal and intestinal motility disorders, failure-to-thrive and nutritional problems, allergic GI diseases, inflammatory bowel disease, functional GI diseases, chronic constipation and abdominal pain, short gut syndrome, parenteral and enteral nutrition management, acute and chronic hepatitis, a variety of metabolic and genetic liver diseases, neonatal cholestasis, acute and chronic liver failure, liver transplant, chronic cholestatic disorders, bile duct and gall bladder disorders, acute and chronic pancreatitis, GI problems of the immunosuppressed or immunodeficient patient, and others. The Inpatient and Consult services range from 10-20 patients each. The GI and Liver Medical services include a dietitian, social worker, and pharmacist as part of the inpatient teams.

Outpatient

While on the Outpatient Clinics Rotation, the fellow attends four half-day clinics per week, including urgent outpatient clinics and multidisciplinary subspecialty clinics such as Liver Clinic, the Gastrointestinal Eosinophilic Disease Program, Intestinal Rehabilitation Clinic, Neurogastroenterology Motility Clinic, Celiac Disease Clinic, IBD Clinic, and Aerodigestive Clinic. The fellows are exposed to the full range of outpatient GI/ liver/nutrition disorders and learn the appropriate and cost-effective evaluation and management of these diseases in infants and children. In addition, fellows have their own Continuity Clinic (one ½ day per week) throughout their 3 years of fellowship training. The fellow functions as the primary GI specialist for patients seen within their Continuity Clinic and allows the fellow to gain expertise in longitudinal outpatient care. The Fellows Continuity Clinic is overseen by a small group of attendings in order to offer focused mentoring and consistency in precepting.

During the Outpatient Procedures Rotation, the fellow attends four half-day procedure block times per week under the direction of the attending physician assigned to the block. The fellow will learn to perform and interpret the full gamut of GI diagnostic and interventional procedures, including upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, colonoscopy and sigmoidoscopy, capsule endoscopy, polypectomy, esophageal pH and pH/impedence testing, duodenal intubation, percutaneous liver biopsy, esophageal variceal sclerotherapy and band ligation, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, pneumatic and non-pneumatic dilatation of strictures, removal of GI tract foreign bodies and percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube placement.

During the first year fellow four-week elective rotation, the fellows participate in the Exploring Research Opportunities Rotation during the afternoon. Working with the Program Director and Section Chief, a research plan for the fellow’s second and third years will be developed. By the end of their first year, the fellow presents his or her research plans to the Scholarship Oversight Committee for advice and approval. This Oversight Committee will systematically monitor the fellow's progress during the next two years, assuring appropriate progress and success of the fellow.

The second and third years of training are primarily devoted to research training (clinical, translational, or basic research) which will be carried out in the laboratories and facilities of the CU SOM and Children's Colorado. Responsibilities on the inpatient services are minimized during years 2 and 3 in order to provide 80% protected time for research training. During the second and third years of training, the fellow continues to attend one half-day continuity clinic per week, the teaching conferences of the Section, and rotate on the inpatient service for 2-4 weeks per year.

During the first year of fellowship, the fellow will meet with each of the Pediatric Gastroenterology/Hepatology/Nutrition faculty and other appropriate researchers at University of Colorado School of Medicine (CU SOM), and, in conjunction with the Director of Fellowship Training and the Section Chief, will choose a mentor and a field of study. The Department of Pediatrics at CU SOM has a formal core educational program in Ethics, Professionalism, Statistics, Evidence-Based Medicine and Quality Improvement for all fellows that begins in the first year of fellowship. For fellows who elect to pursue Clinical and Translational Research, we encourage completion of a Masters in Clinical Sciences through the Clinical Sciences Program. There is a core curriculum on research ethics for fellows led by the Colorado Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CCTSI). Basic science research trainees are encouraged to participate in appropriate didactic coursework, as well as mentored laboratory research. Research opportunities are numerous, under the mentorship of one of the Pediatric GI/ Hepatology/ Nutrition faculty or another mentor of the School of Medicine.

The GI/Hepatology/Nutrition Fellowship is an NIH-funded training program in pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition, and works closely with the NIH-supported Mucosal Inflammation Program and Clinical Nutrition Research Unit at CU SOM. In these Centers, there is a large number of NIH-supported investigators studying basic and clinical areas. In addition, the CCTSI at CU SOM, in conjunction with the Clinical Translational Research Center at Children's Colorado, provides training in clinical and translational research, and provides assistance with study design, biostatistics, bioinformatics, research nursing, and financial and scientific support for clinical investigation. Our NIH-Funded T32 Pediatric GI Fellowship Training Program is in its 15th year of NIDDK funding and is co-directed by Drs. Ronald J. Sokol, MD, Chief of the Section of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, and Cara Mack, MD, Fellowship Program Director. The GI/Hepatology/Nutrition Section is also an active Clinical Center in 7 national research consortia studying childhood liver and gastrointestinal diseases, bringing many clinical research opportunities for fellows. The GI/Hepatology/Nutrition Section research is funded by more than 3.5 million dollars per year in grant support.

 

The following teaching conferences play an important role in the training of fellows and housestaff:

1. Fellows’ Rounds are held on Wednesday morning, during which the Fellows present interesting inpatients to the entire group for discussion (once every other month, the conference is dedicated to collaborative case review). In Fellow Rounds, inpatient Fellows present one interesting patient per week to the entire GI group with supervised review of x-rays, examination of the patient, and discussion of pathophysiology, differential diagnosis and treatment options. During these sessions, the 1st year fellow presents a case and the 3rd year fellow moderates the discussion. This provides the 3rd year with an opportunity to run an educational session.
2. On Wednesday Mornings, the conference alternates weekly (Research, Radiology, Pathology, Journal Club, Fellow Topic). Emphasis is placed on the fellow’s acquisition of skills needed to deliver effective lectures and improve their teaching ability for their future careers.
   • Radiology and Pathology: Fellows are asked to interpret x-rays and pathology slides in the Radiology and Pathology Conferences.
   • At Journal Club, the Fellows review journal articles and critique the reviewed articles. They are assisted by a faculty mentor for these sessions. During these sessions, specific topics related to biostatistics are taught.
   • For Topic Conference, fellows present 1 time per year, an organized talk focusing on a specific clinical topic of interest to them. We ask the fellows to choose a topic that they know little about and will therefore gain a high degree of knowledge on the subject by preparing for the talk.
   • Annually the fellows will present their research in progress in the 2nd and 3rd year.
3. A combined pediatric GI/Hepatology/Nutrition and Pediatric Surgery conference is held at CHCO on the first Friday morning of the month. At the Peds GI/Surgery Conference, Fellows alternate with surgical Fellows in presenting interesting cases followed by an organized and detailed talk and handout on the specific topic of interest. Every fellow present at this conference once or twice during their fellowship training. This conference provides the fellows a unique view of how surgeons may manage GI/Hepatology patients.
4. A combined Adult GI and Pediatric GI conference is held at the University Hospital Admin. Pavilion on the fourth Friday every 3 months. Every fellow present at this conference once or twice during their fellowship training. This conference provides the fellows a unique view of how adult gastroenterologists and hepatologists may manage GI/Hepatology patients.
5. Disease-specific multidisciplinary weekly meetings that fellows are welcome to attend include Liver Center meeting, Intestinal Failure and Home Nutritional Support meeting, Inflammatory Bowel Disease meeting, Celiac disease meeting, Gastrointestinal Eosinophilic Diseases Program and Cystic Fibrosis meeting. These sessions provide the fellow with a unique opportunity to observe the many aspects of multidisciplinary management of GI and Liver disease patients with complex diseases.
6. Focused inpatient and outpatient care conferences are attended by fellows’ quarterly.

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 Course:

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

 

 ERAS Application Timeline

Date	Activity
Monday, May 31, 2024	ERAS 2024 season ends at 5 p.m. ET.
Wednesday, June 5, 2024	ERAS 2025 season begins at 9 a.m. ET.
Thursday, June 5, 2024	EFDO will release tokens to fellowship applicants.
Wednesday, July 3, 2024	July cycle fellowship applicants may begin submitting applications to programs at 9 a.m. ET.
Wednesday, July 17, 2024	July cycle fellowship programs may begin reviewing applications at 9 a.m. ET.
May 31, 2025	ERAS 2025 season ends at 5 p.m. ET

 

NRMP Fall Match Timeline

Dates	Activity
Wednesday, August 21, 2024	Match Opens
Wednesday, September 25, 2024	Ranking Opens
Wednesday, November 6, 2024	Quota Change Deadline
Wednesday, November 20, 2024	Rank Order List Certification Deadline
Wednesday, December 4, 2024	MATCH DAY

Required Application Materials

We are registered with ERAS (The Electronic Residency Application Service). Please login to ERAS, complete the Common Application Form, and attach the following supporting documentation:

• Current Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• Personal Statement of 1-2 pages outlining the reasons for choosing this specialty, and the applicant’s career plans
• At least two (2) but no more than four (4) Letters of Recommendation from physicians familiar with the applicant, one of which should be from the applicant’s residency program director
• USMLE/ECFMG scores
• A wallet-sized photo (this will not be distributed to interviewers or anyone participating in the selection process)

Interviews

Our pediatric fellowship will be conducting virtual interviews for this upcoming interview season.  We look forward to sharing our programs with you and getting to know more about you. 

 

Interviews are scheduled from August thru end of October and will be conducted virtually. Applicants selected for a personal interview will be contacted by the fellowship program coordinator. See Contacts below.

Here are our interview dates:

 

• 1st interviews – Tuesday, August 23rd
• 2nd interviews – Friday, September 1st
• 3rd interviews – Wednesday, September 6th
• 4th interviews -  Monday, October 11th 
• 5th interviews – Wednesday, September 13th 
• 6th interviews – Wednesday, September 20th
• 7th interviews – Friday, October 13th
•  8th interviews - Monday, October 18th 

 

Salary and Benefits

Salaries are guaranteed by CU SOM and paid at the relevant PGY level with standard dental and medical insurance benefits for the fellow and family, and disability and life insurance. Funds are available for travel to one or two medical conferences per year and for books/journals.

Night and Weekend Call

Weekend at-home call for fellows is divided among the fellows and averages every ninth weekend. Weeknight at-home call is shared by first-year fellows. Fellows are supervised by designated GI and Liver attendings.

If you have questions about the application and interview process, please reach out to our program coordinator, Meg Book-Smith by email at Meggan.Book-Smith or by phone at 720-777-2738.

1st Year Fellows

Darius Blanding, MD

• Medical School: University of South Carolina SOM
• Residency: Children's Mercy Hospital, Kansas City
• Email: Darius.Blanding

Julie Ann Luna Torres, MD

• Medical School: University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
• Residency: Nationwide Children's Hospital 
• Email: Julie.Luna-torres

Danielle Noles, MD

• Medical School: University of Tennessee College of Medicine
• Residency: UTHSC/Le Bonheur Children's Hospital
• Email: Danielle.Noles

 

2nd Year Fellows

Katie Rose Conover, MD

• Medical School: University of Central Florida College of Medicine
• Residency: Vanderbilt University Medical Center
• Email: Katie.Conover

Michael Joseph, MD, MPH

• Medical School: University of Texas Medical School at Houston
• Residency: Stanford University Pediatric Residency
• Email: Michael.Joseph

 

3rd Year Fellows

Michelle Corrado, MD

• Medical School: Ohio State University College of Medicine
• Residency:  University of Colorado Pediatric Residency
• Email: Michelle.Corrado

Priya Shree Rolfes, MD

• Medical School: New York Medical College
• Residency: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
• Email: Priya.Rolfes

Brianne Herriott Shuler, MD

• Medical School: University of Missouri School of Medicine
• Residency: Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
• Email: Brianne.Shuler