Frequently Asked Questions
Clinical Educator Track
1. What are the overall goals of the clinical educator track?
 The emphasis of the clinical educator track at The University of Pennsylvania
is to train fellows to become leaders in academic gastroenterology with a
focus on clinical care and medical education.
 Fellows will develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes pertaining to
inpatient and outpatient care, medical education, and clinically oriented
research.
 Fellows should develop a focus of interest towards the end of the first year in
order to tailor the second and third years of the fellowship to meet their
needs.
2. What are the inpatient clinical rotations for the clinical educator
track and are they different from the basic science and Masters
of Science in Clinical Epidemiology tracks?
 All first year fellows, regardless of track, will rotate through the Hospital of
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the University of Pennsylvania (HUP), Penn Presbyterian Medical Center
(PPMC), and the Philadelphia VA Medical Center (PVAMC).
All first year fellows, regardless of track, will rotate through independent gut
and hepatology services at HUP.
All first year fellows, regardless of track, will rotate through combined gut
and hepatology services at PPMC and PVAMC.
During the second and third year of fellowship in the clinical educator track,
fellows will be expected to do additional inpatient rotations at HUP, PPMC,
and PVAMC including but not limited to gut, hepatology, and
pancreaticobiliary services. Depending upon fellow interests and needs, the
total time for inpatient rotations will vary between 4 to 8 months for the
second year, and 4 to 8 months for the third year.
During the second and third year of fellowship in the clinical educator track,
fellows will be expected to do at least one rotation on the colorectal surgery
service and one rotation on the liver transplant surgery service.
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3. What are the continuity clinic requirements for the clinical
educator track and are they different from the basic science and
Masters of Science in Clinical Epidemiology tracks?
 All fellows, regardless of track, will be expected to attend continuity clinic ½
day per week for the entire 3-year fellowship at HUP, PPMC, and/or PVAMC.
 All first year fellows, regardless of track, will attend the general
gastroenterology clinic ½ day per week.
 During the second or third year of the clinical educator track, fellows will
attend hepatology clinic ½ day per week for at block time of at least 6
months.
 During the second and third year of the clinical educator track, fellows will
have the opportunity to attend a variety of subspecialty continuity clinics
including but not limited to inflammatory bowel diseases, pancreaticobiliary
diseases, motility, gastrointestinal malignancy, and nutrition. Fellows will
participate in these subspecialty clinics for a minimum of at least 6 months.
4. Are the endoscopy rotations different among the basic science,
Masters of Science in Clinical Epidemiology, and clinical educator
tracks?
 All first year fellows, regardless of track, will be expected to complete 2 (one
week) blocks of endoscopy at The Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine
(PCAM)
 During the second and third year of the clinical educator track, fellows will
have the opportunity to participate in additional endoscopic sessions to fit
their needs. These rotations will occur at PCAM.
 All fellows, regardless of track, will be required to attend simulation
endoscopic training at The Penn Medicine Simulation Center
(www.uphs.upenn.edu/simcenter).
5. Are there other outpatient clinical rotations available to fellows
enrolled in the clinical educator track?
 Clinical educator fellows will have the opportunity to participate in a wide
variety of subspecialty clinics independent of their mandatory continuity
clinics. These clinics include but are not limited to inflammatory bowel
diseases, pancreaticobiliary diseases, motility, gastrointestinal malignancy,
nutrition, viral hepatitis, liver transplant evaluation clinic, post liver
transplant clinic, hepatobiliary tumor clinic, and pathology.
 All upper level fellows, regardless of track, will have 4 weeks of exposure to
outpatient radiology including but not limited to plain film, CT, MR, and
interventional radiology.
 Fellows should tailor their outpatient experiences to fit their learning goals.
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6. What are the conferences available to fellows in the clinical
educator track?
 A wide variety of conferences are available to clinical educator fellows.
 Monday morning liver conference: core topic, case presentation, or research
 Monday afternoon conference: 2 journal clubs monthly, 1 guideline review
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monthly, 1 problem-based module monthly
Tuesday afternoon pathology conference: review of gastrointestinal and
hepatology material
Wednesday afternoon conference: clinical case conference, interdisciplinary
conference, and GI grand rounds
Thursday morning core curriculum conference: review of core topics in
gastroenterology, hepatology, and pancreaticobiliary diseases
Friday morning hepatobiliary tumor conference: multidisciplinary approach
to benign and malignant hepatobiliary lesions
Friday afternoon transplant selection committee meeting: review of
outpatients and inpatients undergoing liver transplant evaluation
Summer lecture series: brief overview of core topics in gastroenterology and
hepatology for incoming fellows
Subspecialty conferences: a wide variety of conferences pertaining to
inflammatory bowel diseases, hepatology, GI motility, and pancreaticobiliary
diseases are available. Fellows should select conferences to meet their
educational needs.
7. What are the research requirements for fellows in the clinical
educator track?
 Fellows are expected to complete a scholarly project during their 3-year
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fellowship. Depending upon fellow needs, research may last from 6-12
months. Research may be taken in blocks of time or in shorter segments
dependent upon fellow needs.
Research may encompass inquiry into gastrointestinal, pancreaticobiliary, or
hepatic diseases
Research may also encompass a project in medical education if so desired.
Fellows should select a mentor and work with that mentor on the scholarly
project. We anticipate that the fellow should produce a body of work
suitable for publication or presentation at a local, national, or international
meeting.
Fellows are invited to peruse the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and
Biostatistics web site (www.cceb.upenn.edu/education) that discusses a
variety of courses that fellows may want to consider to enhance their
research skills.
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8. Are their opportunities for clinical educator fellows to teach?
 Clinical educator fellows will be given multiple opportunities to teach
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throughout their fellowship experience.
All fellows, regardless of track, will be important sources of information for
medical students, medical housestaff, and ancillary personnel in both the
inpatient and outpatient settings.
All fellows, regardless of track, will be required to participate in clinical case
conference and other conferences above as necessary.
Clinical educator fellows will also be given the opportunity to teach at The
Perelman School of Medicine of The University of Pennsylvania. Educational
experiences include but are not limited to giving lectures to medical students
and facilitating break out sessions for students.
Clinical educator fellows may wish to develop their own teaching program
and enhance the educational experience of others within the health system
including but not limited to medical students, housestaff, and ancillary
personnel through lectures, seminars, and small group work.
Clinical educator fellows will be expected to participate in curriculum design,
implementation, and assessment.
Clinical educator fellows will be given instruction on how to implement a
variety of educational methods including but not limited to lectures, small
group learning, problem-based learning, and information technology.
9. What are the administrative responsibilities of the clinical
educator fellow?
 Clinical educator fellows will be expected to attend the Educational and
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Fellowship Committee meetings.
Clinical educator fellows will be expected to develop leadership skills in
medical education.
Clinical educator fellows will be expected to create inpatient and outpatient
schedules for the fellowship program.
Clinical educator fellows will be expected to create endoscopy rotations for
the fellowship program.
Clinical educator fellows will be expected to organize clinical case
conference, the Monday afternoon conference, the Tuesday afternoon
pathology conference, the Thursday morning core curriculum conference,
and the summer lecture series.
Clinical educator fellows will be responsible for on-call rotations for the
fellowship program.
Clinical educator fellows will be responsible for vacation schedules for the
fellowship program.
Clinical educator fellows will be expected to assist in the orientation of
incoming gastroenterology fellows.
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 Clinical educator fellows will be instrumental in creating new curriculae,
maintain existing curriculae, and developing assessment tools for curriculae.
 Clinical educator fellows will be expected to work closely with the Program
Director, Associate Program Director, the Head of the Division of
Gastroenterology, and the Program Coordinator to facilitate clinical care,
educational experiences, and promulgation of scholarly projects.
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