Pediatric Gastroenterology Fellowship

The clinical mission of the fellowship program is to provide expert consultation to referring physicians on a broad range of gastrointestinal, liver and nutrition problems and to provide ongoing care for children with complex disorders of the gastrointestinal system. We strive for excellence in clinical care, research and teaching and our physician scientists are committed to the creation of new knowledge in the discipline.

The Pediatric GI fellows develop special expertise in the diagnosis and management of inflammatory bowel disease, short bowel syndrome, polyposis disorders, motility disorders, gastroesophageal reflux and numerous other conditions. Focus is on a family-centered, multi-disciplinary team approach. Fellows will be part of a team which includes social workers, surgeons, nutritionists, psychiatrists, pediatric nurse practitioners, nurses and administrative staff.

Year One

In the first year of fellowship, fellows engage in inpatient care (2 blocks), consultative care (4 blocks) and intestinal rehabilitation (2 blocks). One block is dedicated to developing endoscopy skills and outpatient clinic. Fellows also have time during their first year to begin their scholarly activity (4 blocks). Furthermore, a fellow-driven half-day outpatient clinic begins during the first year and lasts throughout the fellow’s training to allow for longitudinal outpatient care.

Years Two and Three

During the second and third years of fellowship, the majority of time is spent engaged in scholarly activity with 5-7 blocks dedicated to inpatient and consultative care along with elective time. Night and weekend call responsibilities are shared across all years of fellowship trainees with decreasing call assignments over the course of training.

The core curriculum of the fellowship program is under the direction of Dr. Karla Vaz, Associate Program Director for curriculum.  It is designed to be rich, varied and innovative and  includes didactic seminars, departmental Grand Rounds, Visiting Guest Lecture series, specialty rounds in radiology and pathology, journal clubs, board preparation reviews and special seminars.

The curriculum schedule includes:

Program Aims

Our program's primary objective is to train clinically competent, compassionate, independent, board-eligible physicians with broad clinical knowledge of pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition through a combination of intensive inpatient and outpatient service exposure. Fellows gain competency and independent decision making skills in a broad range of endoscopic, diagnostic, and therapeutic procedures.

Fellows are likewise required to dedicate a portion of their fellowship to either laboratory-based or clinical research. This typically begins soon after the start of the fellowship and is pursued throughout the individual’s training.

The fellowship is dedicated to providing an environment supportive of life-long learning and professional development. Towards these goals, we are committed to modeling the highest standards of patient care, teaching, and scholarship. The fellowship aims to prepare trainees to provide compassionate, high quality, safe care to a broad socioeconomic group throughout their careers and in all settings of practice.

The Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition has a long history of contributions to scientific laboratory, clinical and translational research and continues to be on the cutting edge of research in a broad array of areas.

Ross Maltz, MD and Peter Lu, MD, Associate Program Directors for Research, coordinate a focused, mentored research experience that commences the first year of training. Research will be conducted under the auspices of an established mentor who is a member of the faculty of the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s or of The Ohio State University, College of Medicine.

Learn More About Clinical Research ›

View Our Publications

Highly qualified division clinical investigators are available as resources as well. Publishing at the peer-reviewed level will be required for completion of the fellowship. Some examples of publications from recent graduates are linked below: 

• Constipation in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Associated with Increased Emergency Department Visits and Inpatient Admissions

• Health-related Quality of Life in Newly Diagnosed Pediatric Patients with Celiac Disease

• Improving Post-induction Antitumor Necrosis Factor Therapeutic Drug Monitoring in Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease

• Polyethylene Glycol 3350 Changes Stool Consistency and the Microbiome but not Behavior of CD1 Mice
• Characterizing Pediatric Familial Adenomatous Polyposis in Patients Undergoing Colectomy in the United States
• Characterization of Esophageal and Sphincter Reflexes across Maturation in Dysphagic Infants with Oral Feeding Success vs Infants requiring Gastrostomy
• A Celiac Care Index Improves Care of Pediatric Patients Newly Diagnosed With Celiac Disease
• Single High-dose Vitamin D3 Supplementation in Pediatric Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Hypovitaminosis D
• Effect of amoxicillin/clavulanate on Gastrointestinal Motility in Children
• The Benefits of Early Oral Nutrition in Mild Acute Pancreatitis
• Effect of Nutritional Rehabilitation on Gastric Motility and Somatization in Adolescents With Anorexia
• Liver Fibrosis in Adults With Fontan Palliation: Do Common Screening Studies Predict Disease Severity?
• Prevalence and Impact of Functional Abdominal Pain Disorders in Children With Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD-FAPD)

Fellows at Nationwide Children’s have the opportunity to take advantage of additional education at The Ohio State University.

Learn more about the Master of Arts in Educational Studies, Biomedical Education ›

Learn more about Educational Opportunities for Fellows at Nationwide Children's Hospital ›

Additional Career Opportunities

Since 2007, fellows who have completed their training in the Pediatric Gastroenterology fellowship are now practicing, teaching and conducting research at:

• Akron Children’s Hospital
• Children’s Hospital Colorado
• Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
• Dayton Children’s Hospital
• Geisinger Health System
• Indiana University School of Medicine
• Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital
• Keck School of Medicine of USC
• Kentucky Children’s Hospital
• Nationwide Children's Hospital
• Nemours Children's Health
• Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego
• University of Louisville
• University of Michigan Mott Children’s Hospital
• Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital
• West Virginia University School of Medicine

Our Fellows are hospital employees, and as such, they are eligible for the same benefits other full-time staff receive (with the exception of paid time off, which is outlined.)

Learn more about fellowship benefits

• Meet Our Faculty
• Meet Our Current Fellows and Alumni

Research education and training are vital to the mission of Nationwide Children's Hospital and The Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital. As a top-ten free-standing pediatric research center and an academic affiliate of The Ohio State University, The Research Institute has an outstanding faculty, dedicated to training and mentoring the next generation of scientists in pediatric research.

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Research at Nationwide Children's Hospital

Advocacy

Advocacy training fosters and encourages interest in child advocacy by early involvement and exposure to its many aspects such as addressing social determinants of health, community collaboration, health finance, health policy and legislative advocacy.

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Explore Our Passion for Advocacy

Thank you for your interest in the Pediatric Gastroenterology Fellowship at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

To meet the needs of our applicants, our program participates in the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) and the Electronic Residency Application System (ERAS) for all applications. This program is open to candidates in July, and interviews will be conducted from August through October of each academic year.

Early submission of applications is encouraged as this allows the program and the candidate the opportunity to schedule the most mutually convenient time for an interview.

Our program has three openings for PGY 4’s each academic year.

Eligibility:

• All applicants must be board eligible or board certified in pediatrics through the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP).
• All International graduates must hold an unrestricted, J1 VISA.

Upon completion of the review of all applications by the program director and recruitment committee, qualified candidates will be invited to interview. We encourage you to apply if you meet our eligibility criteria, and look forward to considering your application.

For questions or further information please contact:

Mackenzie Kibbe
Education Program Administrator
Division of Gastroenterology
Nationwide Children's Hospital
700 Children's Drive
Columbus, Ohio  43205-2696
Phone: (614) 355-2926
Email: Mackenzie.Kibbe@NationwideChildrens.org

Please contact our education program administrator regarding specific questions.

Karla Vaz, MD, MEd
Director, Pediatric Gastroenterology Fellowship Training Program
Phone: (614) 722-3474
Email: Karla.Vaz@NationwideChildrens.org 

Mackenzie Kibbe
Education Program Administrator
Division of Gastroenterology
Nationwide Children's Hospital
700 Children's Drive
Columbus, Ohio  43205-2696
Phone: (614) 355-2926
Email: Mackenzie.Kibbe@NationwideChildrens.org