Three junior residents rotate through the gastroenterology service at Children's Hospital each month. The rotation incorporates both and inpatient and outpatient component to maximize resident exposure to the full spectrum of gastroenterology care. The goals of this rotation include assessment of patients with gastrointestinal complaints, the diagnosis and management of common gastrointestinal disorders, and introduction to endoscopy and other procedures unique to this specialty. All residents attend a didactic series that includes a weekly fellow-run seminar and 10 to 12 mini-lectures on basic subjects including gastroesophageal reflux disease, constipation, malabsorption, the pathogenesis of diarrhea, the diagnosis and treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, nutritional assessment, total parenteral nutrition, the approach to abdominal pain, neonatal cholestasis, and the evaluation of liver disease.
On the inpatient service, two residents, a first year fellow, a nurse practitioner, and a dedicated attending manage an average census of nine patients (range 5-20 patients) with a variety of severe gastrointestinal illnesses.
Built into each month-long rotation is a 10 day, call-free outpatient block, during which residents attend clinic three mornings a week and observe endoscopic procedures on the other two mornings.
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