Rheumatology Fellowship
The Pediatric Rheumatology Fellowship at Nationwide Children’s Hospital provides exceptional clinical training, meaningful scholarship opportunities, and strong mentorship within a supportive, multidisciplinary team. Fellows develop expertise in complex rheumatic diseases through an individualized experience that fosters growth, innovation, and collaboration.
Our mission is to prepare fellows for a successful academic career in pediatric rheumatology by providing an excellent environment for patient care, research, quality improvement, advanced training and advocacy. We are committed to meeting the physical and psychosocial needs of our patients, while providing an environment supportive of life-long learning and professional development for our trainees. Towards these goals, we strive to model the highest standards of patient care, teaching, and scholarship.
Our fellows have been successful ambassadors for our program at the regional and national level and our graduates have gone on to become excellent members of the rheumatology community in academic centers and private practice, making meaningful contributions in scholarly activity and patient care.
The program offers a broad clinical exposure to a wide range of rheumatic diseases, with multidisciplinary clinics for Lupus and hypermobility. Ultrasound training is also available during fellowship. Several of our fellows have successfully completed Masters programs such as MPH, MEd, MBOE and MSc during fellowship. In addition, we have trained medicine-pediatrics fellows for board eligibility in both adult and pediatric rheumatology.
What You Need to Know
Curriculum & Experience
The Pediatric Rheumatology Fellowship at Nationwide Children’s Hospital offers a comprehensive, structured, and individualized training experience designed to cultivate clinical excellence, academic growth, and leadership in pediatric rheumatology.
First-Year Fellows
First-year fellows alternate between inpatient and outpatient rotations, ensuring a balanced exposure to a wide spectrum of rheumatologic conditions. They begin building their own continuity clinic, fostering longitudinal patient relationships and clinical independence. Additionally, fellows are allotted 6 weeks of dedicated research time to begin developing scholarly interests and projects.
Senior Fellows
Senior fellows transition to a more individualized curriculum tailored to their career goals. They spend one month on the inpatient service and continue their continuity clinic with increased autonomy. The remainder of their time is customized, allowing for focused experiences in clinical care, research, education, or advocacy. Opportunities are available for advanced ultrasound training and pursuit of advanced degrees in medical education, public health, or research.
Didactic Curriculum
The fellowship includes a robust didactic program. Fellows participate in weekly chapter reviews and a teaching series led by division faculty, covering core topics in pediatric rheumatology. Monthly board preparation sessions reinforce key concepts and exam readiness. A hands-on musculoskeletal ultrasound curriculum is integrated throughout training, equipping fellows with essential diagnostic and procedural skills.
All experience is on the campus of Nationwide Children's Hospital and The Ohio State University Medical Center.
Medical Student & Resident Opportunities
We offer medical student rotations and away rotations for outside residents.
We also participate in the Pediatrics Visiting Resident Rotation
If you are interested in medical student or resident opportunities, please contact Sarah Jones.
Faculty & Fellows
In addition to physicians, the fellows will have the benefit of having direct interaction with experienced supporting staff, including nurse practitioners, nurses, social workers, a specialty pharmacist, occupational and physical therapists and a clinical psychologist.
We are proud to say that our fellow, Samantha Coss, MD, PhD has been featured as a resident research spotlight. Read about her interest in Rheumatology and research.
Research
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. Our fellows have engaged in diverse research including bench, translational, clinical, quality improvement, and educational projects.
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. Fellows have the opportunity to engage in advocacy at the state and national levels through work with the Arthritis Foundation and Ohio Association of Rheumatology (OAR). Our fellows have also volunteered with Flying Horse Farms, a medical specialty camp, to provide medical care in a fun and safe atmosphere.
Application & Selection
Applicants who are applying for the program must be board-eligible or board-certified in pediatrics through the American Board of Pediatrics. Information relative to board eligibility is available at the ABP’s website.
In accordance with Nationwide Children's policy, foreign medical graduates must have a J1 VISA, which will require approval from the Designated Institutional Official and the Rheumatology Program Director.
To apply to the Nationwide Children's Hospital Rheumatology Fellowship Program, please apply via the Electronic Application Program (ERAS) (Applying to Fellowships with ERAS® | AAMC) and register for the match through the NRMP (NRMP | National Resident Matching Program).
Interviews will be conducted August through October and applications will be considered through September 30. While there is an extended period for the application deadline, early applications are encouraged which allows the program and the candidate the opportunity to schedule the most desirable time for an interview. There are a number of days and dates selected for the one-day interview process.
We appreciate your interest in our fellowship program and look forward to reviewing your completed application.
