Fellowship
Description of fellowship program (PDF)
The goal of the subspecialty fellowship is to train physicians to achieve excellence in the practice of clinical pediatric gastroenterology, scholarly basic science and clinical research, and medical education. The goals of this program are achieved over the course of three years of training.
GI fellows accept graduated responsibility in the clinical management of children with gastrointestinal, hepatic and nutritional disorders under the direct supervision of a board certified pediatric gastroenterologist while rotating through the gastroenterology inpatient service and the liver transplant inpatient service. This responsibility includes patient care, parent conferences, consultations with other subspecialties, night and weekend call, and interfacing with the many services that interact with pediatric gastroenterology, nutrition, and liver transplant.
The first year of the fellowship will be primarily clinical in nature, during which the fellow will become trained in the evaluation and management of children with diseases of the gastrointestinal system and their nutritional consequents. During the course of the first year, the trainee will be introduced to the ongoing research programs of each contributing faculty member so that by the end of the year, the GI resident will be able to select a research area to pursue. The second and third years will be devoted primarily to investigation in the field of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, but the GI resident will continue to participate in the clinical activities of the Division to the appropriate degree to maintain and hone clinical skills. After completion of the fellowship, the GI fellow will have met the requirements for board eligibility in Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition set forth by the America Board of Pediatrics.
The program permits achievement of the above goals by providing:
- A broad based experience with pediatric gastroenterology patients that span the entire spectrum of varied and complex diseases in the field; the volume of patients in sufficiently great to ensure that the subspecialty fellows have the opportunity to become clinically competent in the management of common as well as uncommon gastrointestinal, hepatobiliary, and pancreatic diseases in patients ranging from infancy through young adulthood.
- A consult service that provides expert evaluation of the gastrointestinal manifestation of a broad spectrum of pediatric illnesses.
- To encourage the development of teaching skills, fellow participation is required at the weekly pediatric GI Journal Club/case discussion meeting. In addition, the resident presents 1-2 times /year at the combined adult GI/Pediatric GI Clinical Conference –also a weekly event. The GI fellow also will present 1 of the 5 “Board Review Lectures in Gastroenterology” at the Noon Lecture Series designed for pediatric house staff and students.
- With time spent in the Ambulatory Procedure Unit (APU), the fellow is exposed to and mentored by faculty to successfully master all the standard G-I procedures (endoscopy including sclerotherapy and foreign body removal, colonoscopy, percutaneous liver biopsy). By the end of their third year, the goal will be complete independence in performing all those procedures.
- Per American Board of Pediatrics requirements, fellows are required to pursue a scholarly activity with the help of a Scholarship Oversight Committee. Fellows must complete a project which involves the development and testing of hypotheses or involves extensive research and advanced critical thinking.
Eligibility and Application Process
Due to NIH grant regulations, to be accepted into our 3-year pediatric GI fellowship program, an applicant must have a green card or be a U.S. citizen. Overseas citizens with a J1 visa can be accepted into our program as long as they are in a U.S. or Canadian residency program and have been for 2 years. We can transfer their J1 visa from the residency program to here. We do not accept H1B visas. In addition, all applicants must be eligible for a California Medical License. Prior to submitting an application, potential fellows should verify that their medical school is on the list of those recognized by the Medical Board of California. Applicants meeting these requirements are considered upon the strength of their test scores, academic achievements, and recommendations.
We participate in the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS). Applications for fellowship positions should be submitted through ERAS starting in November of the year prior to the fellowship match (two years prior to the expected fellowship start date.) Interested applicants should apply electronically through ERAS and provide the following documents:
- Completed ERAS application
- At least three and no more than four letters of reference including one from your residency program director. We recommend at least one letter be written by a faculty member in Pediatric Gastroenterology.
- Medical school transcript including Dean's letter
- Curriculum Vitae
- Personal statement
Applications will be reviewed only once they are complete. Please contact us directly if your application will be delayed for any reason. We do not typically accept applications submitted after January 31st.
If selected for interview, applicants will be contacted directly by the program coordinator, and a full day of interviews will be scheduled in February, March, or April, depending upon program and applicant availability.
Application and Interview Timeline
Contact Us
If you have additional questions regarding the program or the status of your application, please contact:
Megan Christofferson
Fellowship Coordinator
MChristofferson@stanfordchildrens.org
(650) 725-9813
Dr. Kerner has been a faculty member in Pediatric Gastroenterology since 1979 at Stanford University School of Medicine. He served as a director of the Division from 1979 through 1985 and as co-director from 1985 through 1994. He is board certified in Pediatric Gastroenterology and in Pediatrics.