The Washington University Pediatric Endocrinology Fellowship program is dedicated to providing excellent training in pediatric endocrinology to meet the long term career goals of each fellow. Fellows can select specialized training pathway during the first six months of their fellowship. Specialized pathways are:
The second and third year fellows have protected time to focus on research training of clinical (patient-oriented) and/or basic science research to ultimately produce a scholarly work to submit in a peer-reviewed journal. The selection of a research project is guided by each fellow’s ultimate career goals, and is individualized to develop the skills needed to succeed in their chosen path. Mentor selection is facilitated by the Program Director with the goal to have an outlined proposal for their scholarly work by the end of their first year. Fellows take advantage of the highly collaborative environment at the School of Medicine to work with faculty from the entire university depending on their area of interest to compose a scholarly oversight committee, which meets twice annually. This includes faculty from our division as well as:
- Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism in the Department of Internal Medicine
- Other basic science or clinical departments at Washington University
During research training, fellows are also encouraged to pursue didactic training in research methods through various programs at the medical school. Fellows may qualify for grant/scholarship funding through these degree programs.
Second-year fellows are eligible to apply for the Julio Santiago Memorial Fellowship award, an institutional $7000 grant for diabetes research which is given to a pediatric endocrinology fellow. Recent fellows have successfully applied for T32 training grants, travel scholarships to national meetings, and the Pediatric Endocrinology Society Research Fellowship Award. Washington University offers an extensive list of training grant opportunities, including several that are directed at pediatric research.
The program and the department support the development of its fellows’ research and grant-writing skills through a comprehensive, progressive three-year curriculum for all fellows in the Department of Pediatrics. During the academic year, this monthly fellows’ conference covers all ACGME-required training in general topics related to the conduct of research including biostatistics, study design and study implementation.
Fellows planning a career as a clinician educator complete all the requirements of the standard training pathway but are encouraged to participate in additional clinical specialty training. Fellows may attend extra specialty clinics or other clinics specific to their clinical interest which may be coordinated with other sub-specialties if outside the usual scope of endocrinology (example: pediatric psychology for a fellow interested in high risk diabetes care).
Fellows may choose specific didactic training based on career interests.
Quality Improvement – Basic Certificate in Quality and Safety through the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. Complete training for core concepts in patient safety and quality improvement.
Medical Education – Washington University Teaching Physician Pathway. This is a one year certificate program to provide a strong foundation in curriculum design, education theory, pedagogy, and presentation skills.
The Bone Metabolism Pathway is for pediatric endocrinology fellows planning to specialize in the diagnosis and management of metabolic disorders affecting the bone and to engage in bone research. This two-year pathway is designed to allow the fellow to become an expert in the diagnosis and management of metabolic disorders affecting the skeleton, and to engage in skeletal research while maintaining and expanding knowledge of general pediatric endocrinology. This program is managed by the Division of Pediatric Endocrinology in collaboration with the Division of Bone and Mineral Diseases under the Skeletal Disorders Training Program (SDTP).
Fellows may indicate interest in the pathway when applying for fellowship or during the first six months of training to begin during the second year of training.