Clinical Training & Locations

Clinical Training

Fellowship training is 2 years in duration; for trainees interested in further research training, the program can be extended depending on the mechanism of funding. Fellows rotate through a variety of outpatient clinics at our training sites structured to provide a broad experience in the clinical conditions that comprise endocrine practice.  In addition, fellows will rotate on the inpatient consult service at our teaching hospitals providing sub-specialist care for hospitalized patients with endocrine health care needs.

Our fellows also have the opportunity to get focused clinical experience while rotating through various endocrine sub-specialty clinics including: Adrenal Clinic, Bone Diseases Clinic, Cystic Fibrosis/Pulmonary Clinic, Diabetes Technology Clinic, Neuroendocrinology Clinic, Thyroid Cancer Clinic, and the Transplant Clinic.

During their second year, fellows will have external rotations through the following allied specialty clinics: Pediatric Endocrinology, Reproductive Endocrinology (REI), Diabetes in Pregnancy.

In addition to the hands-on clinical training described above, our fellows participate in various educational conferences designed to complement and further enhance their training experience. Fellows are expected to attend all regularly scheduled educational conferences.  These conferences allow for the in depth discussion of particular endocrine diseases and topics in an interdisciplinary format as well as presentation of scholarly information on clinical problems in endocrinology.  Fellows’ performance in these conferences is formally evaluated by the participating faculty members and specific feedback given to them to improve their presentation and teaching skills. The regularly scheduled conferences include:

• Endocrinology / ENT / Nuclear Medicine & Surgical Pathology Conference

This is a multispecialty conference focusing on thyroid cancer, parathyroid disease and other endocrine tumors. Participants include the Departments of Pathology, Otolaryngology, Surgery, Radiation oncology, Nuclear Medicine, as well as Endocrinology. This Conference is held from 7:30-8:30 AM the 1st Tuesday of every month. 

• Endocrine Fellows Core Conference Series

A robust core curriculum lecture series for the fellows provides a comprehensive review of pathophysiology, diagnosis and treatment of common and rare endocrine disorders. This Conference is held on Tuesdays several times per month.

• Endocrinology Board Review Sessions

Faculty-led board review sessions are designed to enhance our fellows’ test taking skills and to help prepare them for the ABIM certification examination in Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism. This Conference is held on Tuesdays and Fridays in the latter half of academic year.

• Journal Club

Journal Club is presented by our fellows on a rotating basis.  One primary article is selected by the fellow in consultation with faculty.  The format of the presentation includes a review of the rationale and pertinent data raising the clinical question addressed by the paper, critical analysis of the data, and discussion of relevant scientific literature, followed by a general discussion.  This Conference is held on Fridays throughout the year.

• Clinical Case Conference

This is a weekly case discussion of interesting and problematic cases seen in our division. Presentation of a clinical case by the fellow, resident, student, or a faculty member is followed by a review of relevant medical literature and general discussion. This Conference is held on Fridays throughout the year. 

• Combined Endocrine Grand Rounds Conference

Presented by guest lecturers (internal or from outside institutions) including both Adult and Pediatric Endocrinology faculty. The topics include both basic and clinical science to provide new and state-of-the-art developments relevant to endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism. This conference is held from 1:00-2:00 PM on various Fridays throughout the year at the Cincinnati Children’s campus.  

• Combined Fellows Clinical Case Core Conference

Presented by the endocrine fellows from both the Medicine and Pediatric Endocrinology Divisions to the members and trainees of each division.  Selected cases of clinical of interest and educational value from Adult and Pediatric divisions are presented at this conference. In most cases the patients presented have been fully studied, a diagnosis established, and treatment initiated.  This conference is held from 1:00-2:00 PM on various Fridays throughout the year at the Cincinnati Children’s campus.  

• Morbidity, Mortality and Improvement Conference:

These conferences are presented by our endocrine fellows on various Fridays throughout the year. Clinical cases with suboptimal outcomes are discussed in depth with specific focus on system-based improvements that can be undertaken to improve the patient outcomes in the light of evidence-based literature.

• Endocrinology Fellows’ Grand Rounds:

Fellows present grand rounds once annually in latter half of academic year. The topic of presentation is selected in consultation with a faculty member. The Fellows perform an in-depth literature review of a specific area within Endocrinology and formally present to our division and is held on Fridays throughout the year.

Locations

Our training sites include University of Cincinnati Medical Center (UCMC), the Cincinnati Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC), the West Chester Hospital (WCH), the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC) and their affiliated clinics.

UCMC is a 695 beds tertiary and quaternary care teaching hospital with centers in trauma and transplantation as well as advanced care in critical illness. UCMC provides the primary clinical site at which fellowship teaching and training is conducted.

The VAMC is a 116 bed facility that serves a population of ~ 30,000 veterans and provides another major clinical site for ambulatory and inpatient training of our fellows.

WCH is a 126 bed community hospital located north of greater Cincinnati. WCH provides ambulatory and inpatient training experience to our fellows that is more reflective of a private practice and community hospital setting.

CCHMC, one of the top ranking Children’s hospital nationally, provides an elective opportunity for fellows to receive education and training in Pediatric Endocrinology. Some of the teaching conferences for the fellows are held at CCHMC in conjunction with Pediatric Endocrinology fellowship program.