The GI Fellowship program curriculum follows the decision of the American Board of Internal Medicine to require a minimum of 3 years of training in gastroenterology. The core clinical curriculum requires a minimum of 18 months of traditional inpatient and outpatient consultation experience as well as a array of conferences and didactic sessions. A longitudinal outpatient experience is mandated for the full three years of training. The long-accepted guidelines of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy for training in basic endoscopic skills are followed. Procedural experience in ERCP is no longer included in the core clinical curriculum of all trainees but is reserved as an advanced procedure for selected fellows desiring enhanced skill in interventional endoscopy. There will be a requirement for a substantive research/scholarly activity experience of no less than 6 months.
Beyond the 18-month core clinical curriculum and the 6-month research requirement, additional training is required so as to permit flexibility commensurate with the trainee's skills, interests, and career goals. This will translate into another 12 months of clinical work or an intensive research experience, with the understanding that such training will need to be continued well beyond the standard three year period of training in order to prepare the trainee for a career as an independent investigator.
The program will emphasize the paramount importance of practice and research based on the highest principles of ethics, humanism, and professionalism. The importance of the scientific method and of preparation of lifelong learning based on independent and critical thinking and a desire for continued self-improvement is
stressed.