Training & Curriculum
Fellows receive comprehensive experience and education in all facets of endocrinology and investigative research.
We have two tracks in our fellowship: a two-year clinical track and a three-year research track that is supported by our NIH T32 training grant. The schedule is divided into inpatient consult blocks, specialty blocks and research blocks. Our fellows have their own continuity clinics throughout their training and also lead the teaching clinics to help foster their independence. Fellows spend three to four months in each of the two years on inpatient service. The remaining time of each year is spent attending outpatient clinics and participating in research projects and engaging in clinical education.
NRMP code: 1030143F0—2 year clinical track
NRMP code: 1030143F1—3 year research track
Core Clinical Rotations
Inpatient Consultation Service
The consult fellow will direct a consult team consisting of a medical resident and often a medical student. The fellow will see patients with a wide variety of metabolic and endocrine abnormalities and will be responsible for teaching the junior members of the team. All consultation cases are presented to and discussed with a full-time faculty member during daily rounds. Experience gained during this period of training is broad and equips one to approach endocrine disorders with confidence.
Outpatient Clinics
Throughout training, fellows will have a dedicated weekly continuity clinic, wherein patients are scheduled with the fellow as the provider. These clinics are always staffed in person by an attending in endocrinology. Additional continuity experiences include a Faculty Endocrinology Clinic which takes place throughout the entire fellowship period. For 12 months over the training period, fellows attend subspecialty clinics including Thyroid, Pituitary, Transgender Medicine, Reproductive Endocrinology, Bone, Menopause, Hypertension, Pediatric Endocrinology, Neuroendocrine Tumors, Bariatric Surgery, Urology, Graves’ Eye Disease, Nutrition, Diabetes Education, Endocrine Surgery, Podiatry, Endocrine Oncology and a General Endocrinology Clinic at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, which is a county teaching hospital with a rich breadth of patients.
Fellows are also involved in the management of the private patients seen by the full-time Cedars-Sinai faculty and can evaluate patients in the busy practices of selected clinical attendings.
Specialized Procedural Experience
We have our own thyroid ultrasound instruments and training is provided for fellows. This permits the fellows and faculty to perform thyroid US and guided biopsies during General Endocrine Clinic, as well as when convenient.
Research
For two months per year, fellows will have a dedicated research block.
Fellows on the two-year clinical track will have a dedicated research block for two months per year. Fellows on the three-year research track will have a one-month research block in year 1, nine months in year 2 and 100% protected time for research in year 3.
Investigative training is an integral part of our program. It includes involvement in various research projects and occupies variable amounts of time and effort throughout the two or three years of fellowship training. All fellows attend research seminars and conferences to become familiar with the projects underway in our laboratories. It is anticipated that all of our fellows will become involved in clinical research or more basic laboratory research early in their first year, with their personal involvement becoming more direct and extensive as the fellowship program progresses. Fellows in our program usually select one faculty member as their research preceptor and then carry out their research program in one of several areas.
The endocrine division has a T32 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support salaries of fellows performing research, including an additional year of dedicated research training beyond the standard two-year fellowship. Cedars-Sinai has also instituted the Clinical Scholars Program, which fosters development of clinician-researchers, with the ultimate goal of assisting them in establishing a project and obtaining grant funding.
Conferences
Conferences are attended by fellows, full-time and volunteer faculty, research associates and students. A number of distinguished visiting professors serve to enrich the conference program.
- Endocrine Grand Rounds: Major subjects in endocrinology are discussed by the faculty and distinguished visiting professors at weekly conferences.
- Thyroid Tumor Board: This bimonthly conference features presentation and discussion of challenging cases as a way to highlight key topics in diagnosis and management of thyroid cancer.
- Endocrine and Metabolism—Diabetes and Obesity Research Institute (EM-DORI): In this weekly seminar, diverse investigators present the results of their clinical or basic research.
- Endocrine Seminar Series: Occurring every other week, this is an interactive review of an endocrine topic with a faculty member and the fellows, and covers the full spectrum of endocrinology over the course of training.
- Summer Diabetes Series: This weekly didactic series occurs over the first three months of training, covering all fundamental topics of diabetes, including diagnosis, oral and injection therapies, microvascular complications, diet and technologies (pumps, continuous glucose monitoring).
- Board Review for Fellows: Meeting twice a month, a faculty preceptor reviews board exam-type questions with the fellows.
- Endocrine Journal Club: These monthly journal clubs include clinical and research trainees and faculty, and provide insight into analysis of the endocrine literature, focusing on controversial topics or new therapies.
- Interdisciplinary Pituitary Case Conference: In this monthly conference, difficult cases of pituitary disease are presented. This is an interdisciplinary conference, with participation by pathology, radiology and surgery, as well as endocrinology.
- Interdisciplinary Conference on Diabetes and Metabolism: This conference reviews topics in diabetes management, via case presentation and/or presentations by experts in the field.
- Multidisciplinary Adrenal Conference: This conference occurs every other month during which fellows and faculty present challenging adrenal cases. This is an interdisciplinary conference, with participation by pathology, radiology, surgery, oncology and endocrinology.
- Clinical Research 101 Workshop: A didactic series that covers research basics including study design, ethical conduct of research, scientific writing, the IRB process and statistics.
- Interesting Case Conference: In this conference, which occurs every other month, fellows present an interesting case to the endocrine faculty. It provides the opportunity to review clinical manifestations of the endocrine disease and discuss differential diagnoses, diagnostic workups, interpretation of tests and management.
- Radiology Rounds: In this weekly conference, the pituitary endocrinologists, pituitary surgeon, and pituitary radiologist review imaging on patients from the weekly clinics.
- Hypertension Grand Rounds: This conference is a forum for multiple specialties to discuss various aspects of hypertension, including endocrine hypertension.
- Medicine Grand Rounds: Major subjects in internal medicine are discussed by the faculty and distinguished visiting professors at weekly conferences.
Have Questions or Need Help?
Contact us if you have questions or would like to learn more about the Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism Fellowship at Cedars-Sinai.