Gastroenterology Fellowship

First Year

During the first year, our fellows have an intensive exposure to inpatient and outpatient gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition. Time is spent on the inpatient gastroenterology service, consult service, and the liver and intestinal failure service which includes time with the liver and intestinal transplant teams. They develop procedural skills and are exposed to a wide variety of acute and chronic gastrointestinal diseases. In addition to inpatient service time, first year fellows spend time in our subspecialty clinics (inflammatory bowel disease, hepatology, motility, celiac, intestinal rehabilitation, and liver/intestinal transplant clinic). Interested fellows can also gain exposure to therapeutic and specialized endoscopy procedures such as ERCP and motility procedures. There are also three weeks of research during the first year. In partnership with our colleagues in gastroenterology at the University of Washington, our first year fellows have the opportunity to spend three weeks teaching second year medical students in lectures and small group discussions. 

Second and Third Year

In their second and third years, fellows focus on an academic research pursuit (basic science, translational, or clinical), allowing them to prepare a unique research project and see it through to fruition. Fellows are encouraged and supported in presenting their research at national and international meetings. We work with fellows to determine their career goals and focus their training to provide  the skills necessary to become independent academic pediatric gastroenterologists. Each fellows has a scholarly oversite committee composed of at least two members from within the division and one external member to help give feedback and provide guidance during this process.

Fellowship Research Opportunities

The clinical research pathway can be designed for fellows who wish to pursue a career as an academic clinician or clinician educator. Fellows on this pathway will conduct a clinical research project and have the opportunity to focus their training in various aspects of pediatric gastroenterology such as inflammatory bowel disease, hepatology, nutrition, motility, intestinal rehabilitation, and cystic fibrosis. There are many funding opportunities that help align a research project with a career interest, such as CF Clinical Research Grants, Health Equity fellowships, a global health track, master degree programs, to name a few.

If a fellow is interested in pursuing a career as a physician-scientist, a different pathway can be identified. In conjunction with the University of Washington, training is available through an NIH T32 training grant to support our fellows in their basic science research with research mentorship and guidance from a scholarly oversight committee. Read more about Seattle Children's UW Pediatrics GI Research (pdf).

Continuity Clinic

All fellows participate in a longitudinal, weekly, continuity clinic experience. Fellows are paired with two continuity clinic mentors, one who focuses on general gastroenterology and the other within a subspecialty. With guidance from their mentor, fellows are primarily responsible for the care of their patients.

Educational Opportunities

The comprehensive educational opportunities in our division focus on the intersection of clinical practice, research, and the critical evaluation of literature. Together these opportunities make up the Fellows’ Educational Series covering the pediatric gastroenterology board content in a three-year cycle. The following didactic sessions are included in the Fellows’ Educational Series: clinical case conference, journal club, research conference, pathology conference, radiology conference, morbidity and mortality conference, joint gastroenterology-surgery conference, University of Washington Frontiers Lecture Series, and team meetings (IBD, general gastroenterology, hepatology, intestinal rehabilitation). 

Other Educational Opportunities

Fellows have the opportunity to participate in additional training through the University of Washington including an MPH in epidemiology, Graduate Certificate in Maternal and Child Health, Teaching Scholars Program, and a Health Services and Quality of Care Research Fellowship.