Nephrology Fellowship Curriculum

The goal of the Pediatric Nephrology Fellowship program is to produce well trained and proficient pediatric nephrologists. This is achieved by combining broad clinical exposure in pediatric nephrology and related disciplines with tailored research experiences and attentive instruction and learning opportunities. The fellowship program fulfills all requirements for pediatric subspecialty board certification by the American Board of Pediatrics and is fully accredited by the American College of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).

Description of Program

Year 1

Outpatient
  • One half-day Pediatric Nephrology Fellow Clinic per week (not held during inpatient service blocks)
  • One half-day Renal Transplant Clinic twice per month
Inpatient 3-4 months of Pediatric Nephrology Service divided into one to two-week blocks
Pathology 2-4 weeks of Pediatric Renal Pathology
Research 6 months dedicated to research seminars and initiation of a mentored research project
Dialysis 1-month Nationwide Children's Dialysis Service
Subspecialty Outpatient Clinic Elective 2-4 weeks of Specialty Clinics (Bone, Lupus, Stone, Urology/Nephrology Clinic)
Call Monday through Friday during the Pediatric Nephrology Service and an average of one weekend per month throughout the year with a Pediatric Nephrology Attending Physician

Year 2

Outpatient
  • One half-day Pediatric Nephrology Fellow Clinic per week (not held during inpatient service blocks)
  • One half-day Renal Transplant Clinic twice per month
  • 2 weeks Pediatric Urology elective
Inpatient 3 months of Pediatric Nephrology Service
Research 7-8 months dedicated to the Fellow's research project(s)
Urology 2-4 weeks of Pediatric Urology rotation
Call Monday through Friday during the Pediatric Nephrology Service and an average of one weekend per month throughout the year with a Pediatric Nephrology Attending Physician

Year 3

Outpatient
  • One half-day Pediatric Nephrology Fellow Clinic per week (not held during inpatient service blocks)
  • One half-day Renal Transplant Clinic twice per month
Inpatient 1-2 months of Pediatric Nephrology Service and one month of The Ohio State University Adult Renal Transplant Service. Additional elective clinical rotations can be arranged
Research 8-9 months dedicated to the Fellow's research project(s)
Elective 1-2 months of electives, depending on fellow's interest, including: Metabolic Bone Disease, Pheresis, Transplantation
Call Monday through Friday during the Pediatric Nephrology Service and an average of one weekend per month throughout the year with a Pediatric Nephrology Attending physician

Teaching:

Fellows will participate in teaching activities for the house staff during Pediatric Nephrology service blocks and will be expected to contribute to resident and medical student teaching. This involves short informal talks given to residents and medical students during inpatient service and structured didactic presentations.

Opportunities for Structured Learning

Weekly

  • Pediatric Nephrology Education Series: A series of pediatric nephrology topics covered in a “flipped classroom” method that involves active engagement. This series repeats every two years and combines useful pre-work with discussion/applications facilitated by our faculty.
  • Department of Pediatrics Grand Rounds (optional)
  • Patient care Discussion (part of our weekly division meeting)
  • The Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Basic/Clinical Sciences Weekly Research Series
    • The Bench to Outcomes Seminar Series - 1st Tuesday of each month (optional)
    • Fellow Research Design/ Statistics Curriculum - 2nd Tuesday of each month
    • Intramural Grant Presentations - 3rd Tuesday of each month (optional)
    • Research Presentations (External) - 4th Tuesday of each month (optional)

Monthly

  • Nationwide Children’s Hospital Renal Pathology Conference
  • Urology/Nephrology/Radiology
  • Post-Kidney transplant care meeting
  • Conference Pediatric Nephrology Fellows Journal Club
  • Nephrology/Urology Research Affinity Group (NURAG) Conference
  • Nationwide Children’s Fellows ACGME Core Competencies Series

Quarterly

  • Nephrology grand rounds
  • Nephrology M&M meeting

Semi-annual

  • Nationwide Children's Hospital Fellowship Quality Improvement Seminars

Clinical conferences in which patient care is discussed in a group meeting:

  • Section meeting (weekly)
  • Dialysis Multidisciplinary Team meeting (bi-monthly)
  • Transplant Multidisciplinary Team/ Patient Selection Committee meeting (monthly)

Nationwide Children’s has a variety of available conferences and presentations open to fellows. Each fellow is expected and supported to attend at least one national nephrology or scientific conference during each year of training.

Additional Resources

You Might Also Be Interested In

Dr. Bignall and patient in exam room

Nephrology Fellowship
Hiren Patel

Meet Our Faculty
Article

Nephrology and Urology Research Affinity Group