The first year of the Clinician Educator Pathway is similar to the first year in the Research Pathway of our program, and is dedicated to providing clinical exposure to a broad spectrum of rheumatic diseases. Fellows spend the majority of the year rotating through the inpatient consult services and outpatient clinics at our three training sites under the supervision of an attending physician. In addition, fellows rotate through several Rheumatology subspecialty clinics such as the combined Rheum-Derm Clinic, Vasculitis Clinic, and the VA Women’s Rheumatology Clinic. All fellows also get extensive training in musculoskeletal ultrasound.
One continuity clinic at the VA and 2 at Stanford are maintained during the first year. Fellows also participate in weekly didactic and research conferences. Lastly, fellows engage in various scholarly activities such as QI projects, writing chapters, medical education, research projects and more.
Dr. Neha Shah, Program Director of the rheumatology fellowship, meets with each fellow regularly regarding their progress. Additionally, each fellow chooses a career mentor who advises them regarding their clinical and research training.