Objective:

The overall objective of the two-year Fellowship in Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism is the acquisition of knowledge, skills, attitudes, and clinical competence that are necessary to perform as a clinical care provider and consultant in endocrinology.  Graduates of the program will be prepared to enter either clinical or academic practice in endocrinology.

Training Sites:

• University Health Truman Medical Center, an urban, academic safety net hospital which is the site of the fellows’ endocrine continuity clinic and where they spend the majority of their time.
• Kansas City Veterans Affairs Medical Center, a tertiary referral center for eastern Kansas and western Missouri which provides exposure to practice within the VA system.

These sites together provide experience with patients across a diverse spectrum of age, racial and ethnic background, socioeconomic status, gender, and clinical conditions in both inpatient and outpatient settings. Two additional training sites include the TMC-Lakewood campus, which is a satellite hospital with a large primary care, geriatric, and women’s health clinical population, and Children’s Mercy Hospital, which provides the setting for a weekly pediatric endocrine experience scheduled over two months in Year 2.

Curriculum:

Year 1:
The fellow spends seven months at University Health Truman Medical Center, one month at University Health Lakewood Medical Center, and 4 months at the Kansas City Veterans Affairs Medical Center. In addition, the fellow begins formal clinical research training through a masters-level course in Clinical Research Methodology, and dedicated research time.  Training in required procedures is included in all teaching sites across both years of the curriculum.  The Fellow’s Ambulatory Continuity Clinics are two, half-day clinics which are held year-round. Clinical rotations include the following:

• Inpatient Consultations
• Ambulatory Consultations
• Fellow’s Ambulatory Continuity Clinic
• Laboratory Medicine & Radiology
• Nutrition

Year 2:
The fellow spends six months at University Health Truman Medical Center one month at University Health Lakewood Medical Center, and four months at the Kansas City Veterans Affairs Medical Center. A weekly pediatric endocrine experience is scheduled over two months at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Year 2.  The fellow continues formal clinical research training through a masters-level course in Biostatistics. Dedicated research time is built into the schedule.  Clinical research and quality improvement projects may be undertaken at both University Health Medical Centers and the Kansas City Veterans Affairs Medical Center.  The fellow is expected to complete both a research project and a quality improvement project before the end of the second year.  Clinical rotations and experiences include the following:

• Inpatient Consultations
• Ambulatory Consultations
• Fellow’s Ambulatory Continuity Clinic
• Reproductive Endocrinology and Endocrinology of Pregnancy

Conferences:

The didactic curriculum and conferences occur year-round and include the following:

• Core Curriculum (weekly)
• Case Conference (weekly)
• Journal Club (monthly)
• Radiology Conference (bimonthly)
• Patient Safety/Quality Improvement (bimonthly)
• Kansas City Metro Endocrine Grand Rounds (quarterly in collaboration with two other local adult and pediatric endocrinology fellowship programs)

Research:

The research experience includes formal training in research methodology (Year 1) and biostatistics (Year 2) in required graduate courses.  Interested fellows may take additional coursework toward a Certificate in Clinical Research or a Master of Science in Bioinformatics. Fellows will choose a research project and mentor in the first year and complete the project in the second year. A Statistical Consult Service is available through the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine to assist fellows with study design and analysis. Study coordinators are available to assist fellows with IRB applications and research compliance. Research opportunities are available with faculty in Endocrinology, as well as in related basic and clinic fields with faculty in other departments across an array of endocrine-related fields (diabetes, metabolic bone disease, nutrition, etc.)

Quality Improvement & Patient Safety:

There is a didactic curriculum in quality improvement and patient safety.  The fellow will complete a mentored quality improvement project by the end of the fellowship, and routinely participate in patient safety activities.