Millcreek Community Hospital Osteopathic Gastroenterology Fellowship Program

Program Director: Vincent S. Fierro, D.O.
Millcreek Community Hospital
Medical Education Department
5515 Peach Street
Erie, PA 16509
(814) 868-8217 or mchmeded@mch1.org

Mission

The Osteopathic Gastroenterology Fellowship Program is designed to provide broad training in Clinical Gastroenterology and is designed to prepare Fellows for a career in academic medicine or clinical practice. The goals of the program are to develop:

1. Independent critical thinking
2. Clinical skills necessary to care for those with digestive disorders
3. Proficiency in utilization of basic endoscopic technology
4. Thorough knowledge of current literature in Gastroenterology

The Fellowship leads to Board eligibility in Gastroenterology.

Program Overview

The Fellowship in Gastroenterology at MCH/LECOM is a three-year program of clinical training which is available to individuals who have completed three years of postdoctoral training in Internal Medicine. One(1) position will be offered each year.

LECOM and MCH are part of Millcreek Health System which is a community based academic health care system. This Health System consists of MCH, LECOM, Millcreek Manor(a geriatric care facility), Medical Associates of Erie(MAE), a physician group practice and a Wellness Center. The Gastroenterology Fellow can expect to see sufficient patient volume and variety through this Health System and affiliated hospitals. The training at these sites provides clinical opportunities in various interventional techniques and a vast exposure to direct patient care in various aspects of digestive disorders.

Unique to this program is the emphasis on education with several opportunities to teach Gastroenterology to medical students in the classroom at LECOM as well as third and fourth-year students along with medical Residents at MCH. All Fellows will have the opportunity to complete a Master's of Science in Medical Education at LECOM as part of the program. The Master's degree provides each Fellow with the opportunity to develop an educational niche which could serve as the foundation for an academic career.

Applications are being accepted for July 1, 2012. (Positions are filled for July 1, 2010 and July 1, 2011.)

Fellowship outline

1. GI inpatient/Consult service: The Fellow will function in conjunction with attending and medical team for gastrointestinal and hepatologic issues at all hospitals. The Fellow will be exposed to several perspectives on evaluation and treatment plans. At the majority of our hospitals residents, interns, and medical students will be involved in the educational process in fellows will provide guidance and teaching. In addition to gaining patient care experience, fellows will perform endoscopic procedures during this time as well.

2. Outpatient Clinics: The Fellow will participate in a fully equipped and staffed outpatient clinic with new patients weekly under supervision of GI faculty. Clinic represents a cross-section of various digestive disorders allowing the fellow to obtain further clinical exposure to long-term management to chronic conditions as primary health provider with faculty supervision. As skill level advances, further autonomy in the management of these patients is employed.

3. Endoscopy training: The Fellow will be trained in a comprehensive and extensive experience in the areas of esophagogastroduodenoscopies, colonoscopies, liver biopies, manometry, video capsule endoscopy, therapeutic procedures such as dilatations, hemostasis, foreign body extractions, paracenteses, as well as ERCP.

4. Hepatology and Liver transplant: There is consistent exposure to various liver disorders throughout entirety of training and focused exposure to hepatology and transplant at Cleveland Clinic incorporating end-stage management of liver disease, selection of appropriate transplant candidates, complications of liver disease, therapeutic opportunities in liver biopsy, paracentesis, and Endoscopic management.

5. Conferences and Education: Clinical experience is supplemented by conferences and lectures held in conjunction with departments of Internal Medicine, Radiology, Pathology, and Surgery. Fellows are also encouraged to attend conferences in various aspects of gastroenterology offered throughout the country and develop and employ research protocols. Basic outline of conferences and opportunities include:
   • Attending rounds – daily on inpatient and consult service
   • Medical case based conference - daily
   • Gut club - weekly
   • GI journal club – weekly
   • GI pathology rounds – twice weekly
   • GI Grand rounds – internal and external speakers every other week
   • GI Fellow lectures – provided weekly to interns, residents, and students
   • Nutrition conference – twice monthly
   • Didactic rounds – one hour per week
   • Medical Grand rounds and Medicine journal club – weekly
   • Board review – every other week
   • Junior faculty for gastroenterology system at LECOM
   • Peer review and core competencies

6. Research: This is incorporated into the overall curriculum to be conducted and performed along with other clinical and educational responsibilities. Fellows are encouraged to develop original investigations as well as participate and collaborate with multi-institutional studies. Epidemiological studies may be available via collaboration with Department of Public Health Services.

7. Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine:
   • Junior faculty for Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine at LECOM
   • Lectures and hands-on training in Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine
   • Clinical application of Osteopathic Principles

Affiliate Hospitals

1. Westmoreland – Greensburg, PA
2. Latrobe – Latrobe, PA
3. Jefferson – South Hills Pittsburgh, PA
4. Cleveland Clinic – Cleveland, OH
5. Mercy – Pittsburgh, PA
6. Pittsburgh Children’s – Pittsburgh, PA
7. UPMC Shadyside – Pittsburgh, PA

Message from Chief Resident, Jeffrey Brannen, D.O.

Over the three years of Gastroenterology Fellowship, Fellows are exposed to a wide array of Gastrointestinal related procedures, hospital and clinical settings. There is dedicated time spent in Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Gastrointestinal Related Pathology and Radiology. The Fellowship training is further enhanced by specialized training in advanced diagnostic and therapeutic procedures such as Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), Stricture Dilation, and Bleeding Hemostasis Techniques. The Fellows' learning experience is supplemented with innovative rotations such as in Gastroenterological Anesthesia and Advanced Airway Management, experiences that may not be offered or required in many Fellowship Programs. There is strong emphasis placed on medical education to create well-rounded Gastroenterologists. These teaching experiences include providing lectures to Residents and Medical Students, both in the hospital setting and in the affiliated medical school, the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. The Fellows also are encouraged to participate in obtaining a Master's Degree in Medical Education during their training. All told, the Fellowship Program is designated to produce highly trained, expert Gastroenterologists who excel as teachers and clinicians.

For more information please contact the Fellows listed below:

• Jeffrey Brannen, D.O., jbrannen@mch1.org
• Benjamin Schaus, D.O., bschaus@mc1.org
• Joseph Henderson, D.O., jhenderson@mch1.org