Clinical Training

The initial training period is similar for all fellows whether they have elected to pursue a career in clinical practice or research. Fellows train at Yale New Haven Hospital, a two-campus, 1541-bed hospital adjacent to the Yale School of Medicine campus in New Haven, and the VA Connecticut Healthcare System located in nearby West Haven. Acquisition of both consultative and endoscopic skills are emphasized in a broad spectrum of gastrointestinal and hepatic diseases and are designed to produce subspecialists competent to practice consultative gastroenterology and hepatology.

Weekly conferences including multi-disciplinary, pathophysiology, research, and pathology conferences and journal clubs supplement bedside teaching. There is a core curriculum for Digestive Diseases that is presented at a weekly conference that spans the entire training program. Journal Club and patient safety and quality improvement conferences are integrated into a weekly clinical case conference. Fellows maintain a continuity clinic throughout the three-year training program.

After the initial 18 months, those fellows who are destined for clinical and academic clinical practice will receive additional clinical training that includes broad exposure and allows time to develop a focused interest. This exposure and opportunities to develop focused interest include initial experience in advanced endoscopy training, motility training, transplant training, and obesity medicine training. Clinical trainees are allotted time to participate in relevant clinical research under the preceptorship of a faculty mentor. All fellows are expected to complete scholarly projects during their three years.