Yale Rheumatology Fellowship Training

The fellowship is a training experience focused on the study and management of rheumatic illness. The training allows for the independent practice of rheumatology and meets the requirements for the ABIM certifying examination. We offer a clinical and/or academic fellowship for physicians that includes clinical training and two or more years of clinical, translational, and/or laboratory research. We also offer research fellowships for individuals with PhD degrees.

Rheumatology clinical fellowships are typically two years. Fellows pursuing an academic or research career often stay for a third year.

“After completing the Yale Rheumatology training program, our graduates are poised to pursue careers in academia, clinical practice, or industry, and are enabled to address the anticipated challenges of today and those of the future.”

- Fotios Koumpouras, MD, Program Director, Rheumatology, Allergy & Immunology

For over 45 years, our rheumatology fellowship program has had a rich history in training outstanding scientists and clinical leaders in medicine. A rheumatology fellowship at Yale will provide pathways for exceptional careers in clinical medicine, academia, and beyond. As a graduate of this program, you will join a diverse group of rheumatologists that have impacted the field over four decades. Many former graduates serve as faculty members at Yale and other esteemed institutions, and include a university president, several division directors in the U.S. and Canada, and two investigators at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Your rheumatology fellowship training at Yale also provides access to an unparalleled educational resource and engaging mentorship atmosphere.

Our clinical and academic fellowship emphasizes career development.

Qualified fellows may also apply for advanced training through:

1. the Yale Investigative Medicine Program,
2. the National Clinician Scholars Program,
3. the Yale Master of Health Science program,
4. the Yale School of Public Health.

We also offer research fellowships in immunobiology, inflammation, and related disciplines for individuals with PhD degrees. Research training for both MD and PhD fellows is supported in part by a grant from the National Institutes of Health.

The main difference is the emphasis on investigation or clinical care. The clinical training programs offer a broad exposure to the rheumatic diseases and opportunity for scholarly work. The research training program includes rigorous mentorship to provide the platform for independent grant support.

Our clinical training program offers exposure to a wide variety of inflammatory rheumatic diseases in the inpatient setting through the rheumatology consult service at Yale New Haven Hospital York Street and Saint Raphael Campuses, and the VA Connecticut Healthcare System. Outpatient clinics at both campuses of Yale New Haven Hospital, the North Haven Interventional Immunology Center, and the VA Connecticut Healthcare System offer a rich and varied patient care experience, exposing trainees to the full spectrum of rheumatic conditions. Fellows can rotate on electives at the Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center.

1. A weekly continuity clinic
2. Subspecialty clinics in major disease areas including systemic lupus, systemic sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, community medicine, Rheumatology-dermatology, hand surgery, and others
3. Supervised twice-monthly education sessions with incorporation of a disease monthly disease-themed curriculum
4. MSK US curriculum
5. Weekly VA clinic with focus on orthopaedics, physiatry and sports medicine
6. Monthly Journal club
7. Weekly post Grand Rounds Fellows Conference
8. Comprehensive Clinical Conferences
9. Weekly Grand Rounds
10. Pediatric rheumatology curriculum

Research training is overseen by individual mentors from the clinical and basic science faculty at the School of Medicine and the Yale Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Each fellow is also assigned a mentoring committee. A list of potential research mentors is available, although fellows can elect to do research projects with any qualified faculty member at Yale.

We participate in the National Resident Match Program. Interested MD or MD/PhD applicants should apply through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS). Individuals interested only in research fellowships should contact the faculty member directly with whom they wish to train.