Rotations
Inpatient Consult Rotation:
On week-long rotations, the fellows provide care to Nephrology patients on one of our two inpatient consult services. Our fellows lead a team of internal medicine residents and medical students, with ample opportunities for teaching both formally at noon conferences and informally during down time in the afternoons. As the quaternary referral center for a large area of the Appalachian Mountain region, we see a wide variety of disease processes including glomerulonephritis. Fellows gain ample experience with acute hemodialysis as well as continuous renal replacement therapy and therapeutic plasma exchange. Fellows also learn how to prescribe peritoneal dialysis in the acute setting and manage complications of peritoneal dialysis, hemodialysis access, and transplant. Opportunities for dialysis catheter placement and kidney biopsy also occur on this rotation, though we are fortunate enough to have support services so that these roles do not become burdensome to the fellows.
Outpatient Rotation:
On outpatient rotations, fellows spend time in hemodialysis units throughout North-Central WV. Rounding with an attending, fellows gain ample experience in managing ESKD patients, both for in-center and home dialysis patients, and get to follow these patients longitudinally over two years. West Virginia has the highest home hemodialysis utilization rate and among the highest peritoneal dialysis utilization in the country, so fellows will feel comfortable managing these patients upon graduation. Fellows also have their own weekly continuity clinic over the two years, allowing for close patient-physician relationships. During these blocks, fellows also help with the transition of care of the patients seen on the inpatient consult service. There is also the opportunity to work in sub-specialty clinics with our attendings including stone clinic and hypertension clinic.
Research and Quality Improvement:
Fellows have dedicated research time throughout their fellowship to develop and complete a research project with faculty mentors. This time is spread out over the course of the 2 years to allow for longer studies/projects and adequate time for data collection that is not found with the 6-month research block model. Our department is fortunate enough to have dedicated research staff ready to help you in the development of your project and even work with medical students and residents to complete your project. Our fellows have presented multiple posters at the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) and American Society of Nephrology (ASN) meetings.
Transplant:
Our fellows spend one month each year at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center rotating with their transplant service. The University of Pittsburgh completes about 200 kidney transplants a year, making it one of the busiest transplant centers int eh country. We have also opened our own transplant center here and look forward to seeing it grow in the upcoming years. We also currently manage many transplant patients on our consult service. Furthermore, the fellows have exposure to patients in the pre-transplant and the post-transplant period in their individual continuity clinic. If transplant becomes a fellow’s passion, the flexibility in our scheduling allows for further transplant rotations and attendance at the American Society of Transplantation Meeting or other symposiums.
Electives:
One of the biggest benefits of our program is our flexibility in building the fellows’ schedules. Early in fellowship, we schedule ample time for exploration of the many subspecialties in Nephrology and then as the fellow finds their niche, we customize their schedule to support your career goals and aspirations. Fellows rotate with the palliative medicine service, run by Dr. Alvin “Woody” Moss, a world-renowned expert in palliative care and medical ethics as well as one of our nephrologists. Fellows also rotate with our medical ICU team to gain additional procedural training. Experiences with the cardiology team, CVICU, vascular surgery, radiology and others can be arranged depending on interest. We have nephrologists passionate about stones, hypertension, glomerulonephritis, home therapies, and medical education and any one of us would be happy to have you with us and mentor you in these areas. We are a close-knit program that loves to get to know each fellow’s aspirations and create your own personalized education program to support your goals.