Rheumatology Fellowship

Our two-year fellowship program curriculum is designed to prepare fellows for confident clinical practice[LKJM1.1] as well as the rheumatology board certification exam.

Didactic instruction provides a foundation of knowledge regarding pathophysiology of rheumatologic disease and evidence-based management of common and rare conditions. Because of the multi-systemic nature of so many rheumatology diseases, multidisciplinary teaching prepares fellows to treat patients alongside other specialists in clinical settings.

Some rotations overlap within a block on separate half-days; hence, the sum of months for each PGY totals more than 12 months.

PGY-4:

• Fellows’ Continuity Clinic (12 months, 3 half-days/week)
• BSWMC Inpatient Rheumatology Consults (4 months)
• Outpatient Rheumatology Clinic (6 months, 4-6 half-days/week)

PGY-5:

• Fellows’ Continuity Clinic (12 months, 2 half-days/week)
• BSWMC Inpatient Rheumatology Consults (2 months)
• Outpatient Rheumatology Clinic (4 months, 4-6 half-days/week)
• Musculoskeletal Ultrasound (MSKUS) Clinic (12 months, 2 half-days/week)

Rheumatology fellows do not take in-house call.

Fellows rotate weekend hospital consult coverage with each fellow covering one weekend in four on average.

Electives:

• Rheumatology Ancillary Services:
• Rotate with physical and occupational therapists, infusion suite nursing staff, specialty pharmacist
• MSK Radiology
• Dermatology Clinic
• Podiatry Clinic
• Orthopedics Clinic
• ILD/PAH Clinic
• Allergy/Immunology Clinic

All fellows participate in scholarly activity as required by ACGME with project selection tailored based on individual fellow interests and career plans.

Potential projects include clinical research, health-systems research, quality improvement, and medical education.

Scholarly activity is supervised by rheumatology fellowship program faculty in collaboration with faculty from other divisions or departments as appropriate.

• Case Conference: Weekly conference that includes a morning-report style case presentation and topical review. Prepared by fellows on a rotating basis.
• Journal Club: Weekly conference that includes presentation and critical analysis of manuscripts from the medical literature with an emphasis on landmark and new studies
• Core Didactic Series: Biweekly conference that covers core rheumatology topics as guided by the American College of Rheumatology Core Curriculum Outline. Sessions delivered by rheumatology and other specialty faculty
• Radiology-Rheumatology: Quarterly conferences in which rheumatology fellows present clinical cases and MSK radiologists lead the fellows in image review
• Dermatology-Rheumatology: Quarterly conferences in which rheumatology fellows and dermatology residents present clinical cases with review of clinical images and histopathology (skin biopsies)
• ILD Case Conference: Monthly conferences in which pulmonology faculty and fellows present clinical cases with multidisciplinary discussion of appropriate diagnostic and treatment algorithms
• MSKUS: All fellows receive training in musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSKUS) including didactic instruction, simulation sessions, and supervised practice scanning