Residency Subspecialty Education

Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition sees much of the spectrum of digestive diseases in children. In addition, nutritional problems are seen as are a variety of liver diseases including evaluation for and post-operative care of liver transplantation patients. Clinics at both Kings County Hospital and University Hospital are busy and provide the fellows, residents, and students with opportunities to diagnose virtually all presentations of common problems, such as gastroesophageal reflux, abdominal pain, rectal bleeding, malnutrition, diarrrhea, jaundice, and learn to prescribe appropriate management strategies including nutritional support employing enteral and parenteral means.

The experience in Gastroenterology consists of following a variety of patients admitted by the service to UHB as well as participating in responding to a large volume of consultations for gastrointestinal disease and nutrition problems on inpatient units and in acute care areas at KCHC and UHB. Residents have initial contact with patients consulted on. They then see and discuss the patients with the supervising teaching attending and the subspecialty fellow. Residents attend 3-5 outpatient clinics per week and provide direct patient care under attending faculty supervision. Formal didactics include weekly GI Clinical Conference, Journal Club/Research Meeting, Biopsy Conference and regional pediatric GI Conference. In addition, there are weekly topic discussions and residents are expected to attend all departmental conferences.

The housestaff and especially those rotating with the division will see invasive procedures such as upper endoscopy, injection of esophageal varices, small bowel biopsies, percutaneous gastrostomy tube placement, colonoscopy, polypectomy and liver biopsies. In addition, pH probe studies and breath hydrogen studies are performed.

The division is involved in research on role of cytokines and mast cells in mucosal immunology and inflammation, lipid disorders and other areas. Opportunities for participation in divisional research activities are available. In addition, there are opportunities for medical students and housestaff to write-up interesting cases of hepatic and digestive disease in children for publication.