Pediatric Endocrinology Fellowship Curriculum

The Vanderbilt Pediatric Endocrinology Fellowship program is a three-year program preparing graduates to practice the clinical science of pediatric endocrinology and diabetes and to develop an area of expertise in clinical or basic research. The American Council of Graduate Medical Education has accredited the fellowship program since 1981.

The program provides an unparalleled training experience in clinical endocrinology. There are over 30,000 outpatient visits in the pediatric endocrinology and diabetes clinics each year. Over 4,000 children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes are followed in the Children's Diabetes Program, and over 300 children are referred each year with newly diagnosed Type 1 diabetes. In addition to adequate exposure to common pediatric endocrine conditions, we also evaluate and care for hundreds of children with the rarest endocrine and genetic disorders.

During the training program, fellows will take a total of 24 weeks of inpatient service and home call. In a typical curriculum, fellows take 12 call weeks in the first year and six in each of the remaining two. We also note that training needs may vary, and we routinely adjust the curriculum to meet the specific needs of our fellows. All fellows have a half-day of continuity clinic each week that lasts all three years and includes both endocrine and diabetes patients.

First year fellows receive additional training in outpatient clinics for four additional half-days each week. Second and third year fellows have no responsibility for outpatient clinic beyond their own continuity clinic. In addition to endocrine and diabetes clinics, the training program also accommodates special clinical interests including the opportunity to train clinically in genetics, lipid metabolism, obesity, adolescent gynecology, cancer survivorship, and other special interest areas.