Child and Adolescent Health

Fellowships

Child and Adolescent Health has two fellowship tracks:

1. Primary Care Research Fellowship in Community Health; and
2. Adolescent Medicine Fellowship.

Columbia University Primary Care Research Fellowship in Community Health

Columbia University offers an exciting 2-year fellowship program in general medicine, pediatrics and family medicine, with a focus on urban community health. The Primary Care Clinician Research Fellowship in Community Health is a collaborative effort of the Divisions of Child and Adolescent Health and Medicine and the Center for Family and Community Medicine, the Mailman School of Public Health and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. The purpose of this fellowship is to provide a strong academic and clinical foundation for primary care physicians who, for the duration of their careers, will remain dedicated to the care of poor minority children, adolescents and adults and who, as general academic physicians, will become leaders in the campaign to reduce health disparities.

This fellowship focuses on two areas, health disparities and community health research and entails:

1. advanced training in research skills including completion of research projects and a publishable manuscript(s) in urban community health;
2. pursuit of a Master's degree in Public Health or Masters of Science at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health;
3. core didactic curriculum in fellows' meetings consisting of research skills and academic development;
4. clinical practice and teaching of primary care in an urban, underserved community in New York City.

Research
Each Fellow is assigned to a research advisor and to a mentor within the Divisions of General Medicine and Pediatrics and the Center for Family and Community Medicine who monitors overall progress of the Fellow and his or her research. At the conclusion of the fellowship, trainees have a broad exposure to primary care research and the necessary in-depth research training to begin careers as independent clinical investigators. Fellows will be expected to prepare their work for presentation at regional and national meetings as well as prepare at least one publishable manuscript. Recent fellows have conducted projects related to mental health, cardiovascular and cardiopulmonary disease, immunizations, diabetes, immigrant health, stroke, health services research, obesity, medical education, medical home, breastfeeding, and child abuse. Research training may focus on core disciplines including health services research, health disparities, epidemiology, and community health. Fellows have the opportunity to draw on the linkages between the three primary care programs and both the Columbia University NIH funded CTSA and the Northern Manhattan Center of Excellence on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NOCEMHD), a National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD) EXPORT center.

Mailman School of Public Health
The completion of a graduate research degree at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health (SPH) is a centerpiece of our program. The School of Public Health is one of the first schools of public health in the nation. It is committed to addressing health needs, both locally in Washington Heights and Harlem communities as well as globally, through its research, education, and service agenda. The School also has outstanding research and degree programs in epidemiology, biostatistics, population family health, health administration, sociomedical sciences and environmental health. The master's coursework provides a strong, broadly based core curriculum in theory and quantitative and qualitative methods that are critical to a primary care research career. Our collaboration with the School of Public Health, not only allows our fellowship trainees to receive advanced training in public health, but also offers opportunities for research and professional collaboration as well as a rich environment of courses and seminars.

Fellows Meetings
Fellows take part in the bi-weekly fellows' meetings. In these meetings, fellows have the opportunity to present their research at various stages of development as well as learn necessary academic skills such as use of statistical software, research ethics, manuscript preparation, grant writing, and job planning.

Clinical Practice
The Divisions of General Medicine and Pediatrics and the Center for Family and Community Medicine have a well-established network of primary care practices in the community staffed by faculty and residents, as well as a commitment to community health. Each of these community health centers is located in an urban, underserved community. Fellows will join one of our practices where they will see patients independently and precept residents and medical students. Fellows will see patients for 2 clinical sessions a week. Starting mid-way through their first year, fellows begin to co-precept residents as well. Fellows also have an option to spend two weeks co-attending on the inpatient wards.

The Health Resource Service Administration (HRSA) funds the fellowship. Federal guidelines restrict the fellowship to U.S. citizens and permanent residents. Recent residency graduates can expect compensation of approximately $59,000 plus coverage of the tuition fees at the School of Public Health. We are particularly interested in receiving applications from underrepresented minorities. In addition to MD applicants, we also accept PhD applicants interested in primary care related research.

Positions are available for July 2012. Interviews are granted on a rolling basis; the deadline for submission is October 15, 2011.

Interested candidates can download an application here or can be obtained from the Division of General Medicine at (212) 305-9379, Child and Adolescent Health at (212) 305-6227 or Center for Family and Community Medicine (212) 304-5214.

Click here to download application.

Click here for a list of current and past fellows.

The completed application includes:

• a standard application form with demographic information.
• a personal statement, of no more than 500 words, with background, interests, and career goals of the applicant.
• a copy of your c.v., with emphasis in research experiences.
• two letters of recommendation from faculty members (a letter from the Chairman of the Department of Medicine/Pediatrics/Family Medicine (as per field) or residency program director is recommended)

Internal Medicine candidates:
Steven Shea MD, MS
ss35@columbia.edu
Division of General Medicine, Columbia University
630 West 168th Street, PH 15, New York, NY 10032
Tel (212) 305-9379
Fax (212) 305-9349

Family Medicine candidates:
Richard Younge, MD, MPH
rgy2103@columbia.edu
Center for Family and Community Medicine, Columbia University
630 West 168th Street PO Box 100, New York NY 10032
Tel (212) 304-7244
Fax (212) 544-1938

Adolescent Medicine Fellowship
New-York Presbyterian Hospital, Columbia University Medical Center

In July 2008, the Section of Adolescent Medicine in the Division of Child and Adolescent Health at the New York-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital began an ACGME-accredited fellowship program designed to prepare young physicians for careers as leaders in the field of academic adolescent health care.

The Adolescent Medicine fellowship is based primarily based at the New York-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital, one of the top-ranked children's hospitals in the nation. Fellows also participate in clinical and academic activities at our affiliated institutions, the Weill Cornell Medical College at the New York Hospital campus, the New York State Psychiatric Institute, and the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. Below is a description of the training program, by year of fellowship.

First Year of Fellowship:
The focus of the first year of fellowship is primarily on clinical training, although quality improvement initiatives, teaching, and the development of a research project are also critical to this year. Adolescent Medicine fellows usually spend four sessions weekly providing primary ambulatory care in the General Adolescent Practice, where they see their own patients under faculty supervision. Over the year, time is also spent at a Family Planning Clinic a Young Men's Clinic, a Teen/Tot Clinic, a psychiatry inpatient and outpatient service and a variety of pediatric subspecialty clinics. Additionally, for 16 weeks, under the supervision of an attending physician, fellows provide consultative care for adolescent patients admitted to the hospital. Educational conferences include the following: weekly core Adolescent Medicine lectures/meetings, bi-weekly research meetings (in conjunction with the Primary Care/Academic Medicine Fellowship), weekly Pediatric Grand Rounds and Chief-of-Service Rounds, and monthly pediatric fellows conferences. During their first year, fellows are also expected to meet with research faculty, choose a research mentor, and develop a well-defined research question.

Second Year of Fellowship:
The second year of training is devoted to acquiring research skills and strengthening teaching and clinical skills. At least 50% of the fellows' time is protected for research and conference activities. In addition to continuing to provide two sessions weekly of general adolescent ambulatory care, fellows gain expertise in managing patients with eating disorders during a one month rotation with the New York Psychiatric Institute's Eating Disorder Inpatient Treatment Unit. They also rotate through school-based health clinic settings and consult on the pediatric inpatient service for 16 weeks, always under the supervision of an attending physician. Fellows continue to be active participants in clinical and research conferences, leading discussions about journal articles and presenting their research work at conferences. Those who have not completed an MPH or equivalent training prior to starting fellowship are given the opportunity to pursue a summer of basic research coursework at the Mailman School of Public Health. Fellows are expected to begin implementation of their research project during their second year of training.

Third Year of Fellowship:
The third year of training is devoted to advancing research, scholarship, teaching, administrative, and clinical skills. The Adolescent Medicine fellows have an average of two to three outpatient clinical sessions per week; during at least one session, they precept residents and medical students, functioning as co-attending physicians. During this year, they also rotate through a college health program, and again provide 16 weeks of inpatient Adolescent Medicine consult service. Between 50 and 70% of their time is protected for research and scholarship endeavors. The third year fellows are expected to take a leadership role in administrative work, education, conferences, and program development. By the end of their third year, fellows are expected to have completed their research project, and are encouraged to submit at least one paper reporting their original research to an established medical journal prior to the completion of training.

Faculty:
David L. Bell, MD, MPH
Marina Catallozzi, MD
Jane Chang, MD
Alwyn T. Cohall, MD
Erica J. Gibson, MD
Lisa S. Ipp, MD
Mara Minguez MD, MS
Betsy Pfeffer, MD
Susan L. Rosenthal, PhD
John Santelli, MD, MPH
Karen Soren, MD

Application information:
Applications will be processed through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) at https://www.erasfellowshipdocuments.org/and will open in July for this application cycle (fellowship positions starting July 2013). Please submit your common MyERAS application form along with the following documents via the ERAS system:

• A personal statement
• A CV
• Three letters of recommendation from faculty members at your institution, including one from your program director or chair.
• Your board scores.

Once your application is complete, we will contact you to schedule an interview.

For more information, contact:
Karen Soren, M.D.
Director, Adolescent Medicine
Email: ks23@columbia.edu