SUBMITTING AN APPLICATION FOR 2008 

The Nephrology/Hypertension fellowship uses the ERAS system to process applications. If you are interested in being considered for admission, please consult the ERAS web site http://www.aamc.org/students/erasfellow/start.htm for procedures. Documents may be submitted starting July 1, 2007, and will be available to the applicant's chosen programs December 1, 2007.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The Nephrology fellowship program at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine emphasizes clinical training in the diagnosis and treatment of renal diseases and hypertension, and a basic understanding of renal physiology and pathophysiology.

Nephrology fellows gain exposure to a wide variety of renal diseases in the first and second years of the fellowship. In the first year of subspecialty training, fellows usually spend six months on the inpatient Nephrology Consultation Service at Northwestern Memorial Hospital (NMH). Fellows manage patients throughout the hospital with acute and chronic renal failure, including a significant number of critically ill patients in the medical and surgical ICUs. Fellows gain familiarity with renal replacement therapies including acute hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis and continuous replacement therapies. First year fellows spend about six months on the Renal Transplantation Service and at the VA Hospital. Fellows co-manage kidney or kidney-pancreas transplant patients with the transplantation surgeons from the pre-operative until discharge, as well as those patients requiring re-hospitalization. The range of transplantation-related issues includes acute and chronic rejection, delayed graft function, infections, management of immunosuppressive medications and other transplantation-related medical problems.

In the second year of training, fellows focus on the long-term, outpatient management of renal patients. Fellows are assigned the medical care of patients on both chronic hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis, and spend significant time in the outpatient Nephrology clinic. In addition, fellows may rotate through a dialysis service covering patients admitted to NMH. Second year fellows are expected to engage in clinical research by conducting a project in their area of interest, working with a faculty member in the Division, or may elect to spend research time in one of several basic science research laboratories in the Division. Fellows interested in academic medicine and research are considered for a three year fellowship which includes two years of research, and this path is highly encouraged.

Clinical duties are supplemented by a curriculum including formal didactic teaching sessions on various topics in clinical nephrology specifically geared towards fellows. Clinical conferences in which fellows present interesting patient cases to the clinical Division faculty are held once weekly. Biopsy conferences with the Renal Pathologist are held once monthly. Fellows learn to critically read the current nephrology literature through monthly journal clubs presented by fellows and attendings. Additionally, a Fellows' Journal Club aimed at preparation for the Nephrology Board Examination is held once monthly. Lastly, nationally recognized experts in various areas of nephrology are invited as guest speakers throughout the year.