Gastroenterology

Four primary junior residents rotate through the gastroenterology service (which includes a separate inpatient hepatology service) at Boston Children’s Hospital each month, with a first year fellow and attending. The resident team works alongside a separate team staffed by an attending and nurse practitioners. The rotation incorporates both inpatient and outpatient experiences to maximize resident exposure to the full spectrum of gastroenterology care. The goals of this rotation include assessment of patients with gastrointestinal complaints, the diagnosis and management of common gastrointestinal disorders, and introduction to endoscopy and other procedures unique to this specialty. All residents attend a daily didactic series before rounds that includes lectures on basic subjects including gastroesophageal reflux disease, constipation, malabsorption, the pathogenesis of diarrhea, the diagnosis and treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, nutritional assessment, total parenteral nutrition, the approach to abdominal pain, neonatal cholestasis, and the evaluation of liver disease.

Built into each 4-week rotation are one week of outpatient experiences during which residents attend clinic and observe endoscopic procedures. Examples include Grow Clinic, hepatology clinic, IBD clinic, short-gut clinic, and new general GI referrals.