.gif) Fellowship training at UIC involves a 3-year program of study designed to train physicians the fundamentals of clinical gastroenterology and hepatology. This education involves broad exposure to all aspects of consultative gastroenterology, the aquisition of procedural skills, and exposure to clinical and/or basic research.
The bulk of the clinical training is provided by the faculty of the UIC Section of Digestive Diseases and Nutrition. Fellows receive training at 4 different hospitals: University of Illinois Medical Center, Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Mount Sinai Hospital, and St. Francis Hospital of Evanston. The first three hospitals are located on Chicago's West-side, and are adjacent to the University of Illinois Medical School, the largest medical school in the United States. The programs are completely integrated, and the overall mission of the training program is similar at all of the hospital sites.
In-Patient Care:
Fellows spend approximately 18 months at the University of Illinois Hospital, and 9 months at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center. The remainder is divided equally between Mount Sinai and St. Francis Hospitals. This diversity exposes the trainee to the best of both public and private medical care, and to academic, not-for-profit, and HMO-regulated medical systems.
While at a given hospital, fellows will be expected to supervise the consultation service and play an active role in the teaching of residents and medical students. Standard endoscopic procedures will be performed by the fellow on patients seen on the consultation service, or seen in the outpatient center.
The clinical training utilizes all 4 hospitals and during the first year of training, fellows will be expected to spend 8-12 months on the consultation service of the particular hospital. The overall training in endoscopy is under the direction of Dr. Allan Halline, the extent of which is described below in procedural training. During the first year, fellows will become very proficient in standard endoscopic procedures including: upper endoscopy, colonoscopy, polypectomy, esophageal dilation, esophageal manometry, and biopsy of the small intesting and liver. A weekly endoscopic conference is held that reviews interesting cases and new procedures. The number of procedures performed is sufficient to allow the fellow to easily reach the numbers required for AGA/ASGE certification by the end of their first year of training.
Out-Patient Care/Clinics:
During the first year, fellows spend a half day per week in the Digestive Diseases and Liver Center located at the University of Illinois Medical Center. The center is open 5 days a week, and serves as the office practice site for the faculty and fellows. Faculty are always in attendance during office hours to review patients with fellows, and who see their own patients. A new outpatient clinics facility opened in the Fall of 1999 (pictured above).
First year fellows spend an additional one half day per week seeing patients at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, and which is under the direction of Dr. Gail Hecht and Dr. Richard Benya. Finally, fellows attend the relevant out-patient clinics at Mount Sinai and St. Francis Hospitals, during the time of their rotations at those institutions.
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