I&R Fellowship Program
Mission Statement
The primary mission of our 2-year fellowship training program is to provide advanced educational opportunities in Clinical Immunology & Rheumatology. Our program, within the guidelines established by the ACGME, trains fellows to become familiar with the presentation, natural history, pathophysiology, diagnosis and treatment of Rheumatic Diseases through outpatient and inpatient care, divisional and departmental conferences, participation in research, and independent learning. Graduates of our training program are fully prepared to enter independent clinical and academic practice.
OVERVIEW OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM
The rheumatology fellowship program at the University of Missouri-Columbia has a long history of graduating outstanding clinical rheumatologists. Graduates of our training program are in private practice and academic programs throughout the country. Our program has been structured to meet ACGME requirements which state: “The educational program in rheumatology must be organized to provide training and experience at a sufficient level for the fellow to acquire the competency of a specialist in the field.
The fellowship program is 2 years in duration (as specified by the ACGME and the ABIM). As per ACGME requirements, a minimum of 12 months of clinical experiences is required. The other 12 months of training is dedicated to elective fields of clinical training and to research. The training program is ultimately designed to provide opportunities for fellows to develop clinical competence in the field of immunology and rheumatology.
On an average, 1 to 2 fellows per year are accepted. We currently have four fellows. Applications for University of Missouri - Columbia Immunology & Rheumatology Fellowship positions beginning in 2007, will be accepted through the Electronic Residency Application System (ERAS). We will be participating in the NRMP match. The two-year program is divided into 26 four-week blocks. Clinical training is divided between: (1) University of Missouri Center for Rheumatic Diseases, and (2) the Harry S. Truman VA Hospital. It is also divided between the inpatient and outpatient settings.
As with most subspecialty training programs, teaching and management rounds are combined in our rheumatology fellowship program. Rounds are patient-based, in which current cases are presented as a basis for discussion of such points as interpretation of clinical data, differential diagnosis, pathophysiology, specific management of the patient, the appropriate use of technology, the incorporation of evidence and patient values in clinical decision making, and disease prevention.
All fellows are also expected to participate in research (clinical, translational, or basic) during their fellowship, under the direction of a faculty mentor. At least 3 months annually of protected time is given for this purpose. Research opportunities include: an active ANA lab, which provides excellent teaching and research opportunities, basic research opportunities with key immunology and microbiology department faculty, ongoing funded research in collaboration with PMR and Psychiatry, and an affiliation with the Department of Physical Therapy. It is the expectation of the rheumatology faculty (and the ACGME) that the fellows’ research will be productive, and that it will be published, at the least, as an abstract in a peer-reviewed journal and be submitted for presentation at a national subspecialty meeting. Fellows will also be expected to write up their projects in manuscript form, and encouraged to submit it for publication to a peer-review journal.
The rheumatology division has a variety of educational conferences that fellows attend and participate in (e.g. Grand Rounds, Radiology Conference, Pathology Conference, Clinical Didactics Conference, Basic Science/Research & Immunology Review and Journal Club). During their training, fellows also attend one or more national meetings and conferences that supplement their educational experience.
For Fellowship information contact
Chokkalingam Siva, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine
Interim Program Director for Immunology & Rheumatology
University of Missouri-Columbia
Five Hospital Drive, CE 326
Columbia, MO 65212
E-mail: immufellowshipcoordinator@health.missouri.edu
