ACGME Fellowship

Clinical Training

The University of Chicago Medical Center is the major hospital on the south side of Chicago. Patients are drawn from the immediate neighborhood, the western and northern Chicago suburbs, and northern Indiana. The patient population cared for at UCMC provides a rich exposure to both common and uncommon rheumatologic diseases.

The outpatient Rheumatology program has over 12,000 patient visits a year.  The Rheumatology Clinic is located in the Duchossois Center for Advanced Medicine (DCAM) outpatient building and is co-located with the services of orthopedics, plastic surgery, musculoskeletal radiology, physical and occupational therapy, and the hand rehabilitation clinic allowing for productive interactions with these specialties.

The major component of clinical training occurs in the first year in the DCAM Clinic.  During this time, fellows are the responsible physicians for their own group of patients under the supervision of faculty preceptors who are present at all times.  Fellows will see their patients with their faculty proctors, ensuring continuity of care and an excellent longitudinal clinical experience.  Training in musculoskeletal ultrasound imaging was introduced to the fellowship program in 2012.

Fellows spend, on average, five months assigned to the inpatient consultation service during their first year of fellowship. During this time, the fellows work closely with the attending consult rheumatologist.  The inpatient consultation service evaluates twenty to thirty patients each month – encompassing the range of inpatient rheumatologic diseases.

In addition to the adult inpatient consultation service, rotations in pediatric rheumatology, orthopedics, bone densitometry, ultrasound, and rehabilitative medicine/EMG are required. We have established an ultrasound rotation with didactic and hands-on learning.

Elective time is used to participate in areas of special interest to the Fellow. Fellows may take one or more additional electives in electrodiagnostics, pain management, radiology, or varied specialty rotations that are of particular interest to the fellow.