Pediatric Allergy and Immunology Fellowship Program
- Overview and mission
- Specific information by years and/or rotation
- Additional information about the Pediatric Allergy and Immunology Fellowship Program
Overview and mission
The Allergy/Immunology Fellowship Program is a three-year program designed to prepare pediatricians for careers in academic pediatric allergy and immunology. The first year is dedicated to clinical training.The second and third years emphasize research training in either the clinical or basic sciences.
Fellowship Training Program Director and Division Chief
Kathleen Sullivan, MD, PhD
Division of Allergy and Immunology
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
34th Street and Civic Center Boulevard
Philadelphia, PA 19104-4399
Phone: 215-590-1997
E-mail: sullivan@email.chop.edu
Specific information by years and/or rotations
First year
Allergy
The first year of training provides the fellow with an intensive experience seeing inpatients and outpatients in consultation with an attending physician. The fellow's inpatient experience includes approximately two to sixteen consultations and admissions per week.Predominant diagnoses include asthma and drug reactions, but patients are also seen in evaluation for allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis, eczema and other diagnoses.The fellow is expected to master the basics of inpatient problems and provide resident and student teaching while working directly and closely with an attending physician. In the outpatient setting, the fellow will see patients four days per week (one half day clinical practice or session). The fellow will be responsible for the care of between four to ten patients per week and will perform between two and four food challenges. There is direct attending oversight of history, physical examination, interaction with families and treatment planning. The fellow is expected to demonstrate increasingly independent thinking during the course of the first year.
Immunology
The fellow will have an intensive inpatient and outpatient experience in primary immune deficiency disorders. The fellow's inpatient experience includes approximately two to seven consultations and admissions per week.The expanded time available to the fellow during this rotation allows for reading and investigating each patient in greater depth.Immunodeficiency patients engender greater complexity and detail in management. The Hospital serves one of the largest populations of pediatric immunodeficiency patients in the nation.Within the first year, the fellow will participate in the diagnostic work-up of at least eight new immunodeficiency patients.The fellow will have one half day session caring for immunology patients in the outpatient setting. The fellow will gain experience with intravenous immunoglobulin administration.
Elective
Opportunities are available in Pulmonary Medicine, Infectious Diseases, Rheumatology, Gastroenterology, Special Immunology (HIV),Dermatology, Otolaryngology, and other subspecialties. The first year fellow is expected to observe pulmonary function testing (infant testing, exercise challenge, methacholine challenge). The fellow is asked to undergo body plethysmography to understand the basic principles.
Second year
Clinical and research training
The fellow will have two months of a combined Allergy/Immunology inpatient experience. This activity is combined with his or her research experience.The fellow will spend two successive days on alternating weeks in the adult program at The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. This rotation includes seeing patients in the outpatient clinic, going on inpatient rounds and performing consults. On alternate weeks, the fellow will participate in one Allergy outpatient clinic and one Immunology outpatient clinic at Children's Hospital. Seeing patients in these outpatient sessions will allow for the continuity of patient care.
The second and third year of fellowship should provide the trainee with the opportunity to pursue a focused research project. A clear vision must be evident for completion of at least one research project suitable for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. The fellow is expected to present an abstract of his or her research at a divisional research conference and at a local or national meeting.
Third year
Clinical and research training
The fellow's research continues as the primary objective, alongside educational and clinical activities. The fellow will participate in one Allergy outpatient clinic and one Immunology outpatient clinic at Children's Hospital. The fellow will "act" as an attending physician by supervising 1st and 2nd year fellows as well as pediatric residents and medical students. An active teaching roleis expected in both the inpatient and outpatient setting.
Past trainees
Over the past 12 years, 14 individuals have entered and completed the training program in Pediatric Allergy/Immunology at Children's Hospital. As of 2005,five of these graduates are in academic positions andnine are in private practice with hospital affiliations.
Additional information about the Fellowship Program in Pediatric Allergy/Immunology
Contact Us
- 215-590-2549
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