The UF Health Pediatric Endocrinology Division features highly ranked specialized programs including Prader-Willi Syndrome, Metabolic & Obesity, and Youth Gender. The Diabetes Institute at the University of Florida leads our specialty in breakthrough type 1 diabetes basic science, translational research and comprehensive patient care with advanced technology delivery and support of virtual education.
Year One
The first year is devoted to clinical training in which fellows spend between 6-8 months learning both inpatient and outpatient pediatric endocrinology. During Inpatient months, fellows cover the hospital service with consultations and attend three half-day clinics per week. One of the half-day outpatient clinics is the fellow’s continuity clinic and the remaining two half-days are spent learning in general pediatric endocrine faculty clinics and in the following subspecialty clinics:
- Diabetes clinic
- Prader-Willi syndrome clinic
- Metabolic & Obesity clinic
- Youth Gender clinic
- Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy clinic
The subspecialty clinics are multidisciplinary with experts in endocrine, nutrition, cardiology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, psychology, social work and orthopedic surgery. For the remaining months, fellows explore research opportunities and meet with basic science and clinical research faculty in various areas of endocrinology. During Research months, fellows attend two half-day clinics (one of which is their continuity clinic). By the end of the first year, fellows are expected to have identified their research project, mentor and scholarly oversight committee (SOC).
Year Two & Three
During the second and third year, fellows cover 2-4 months of inpatient service with the predominate focus on research and quality improvement projects.
Fellows receive mentorship and support to embark on investigative careers in basic science or translational/clinical research. Basic and translational/clinical research opportunities exist from which fellows may choose typically during the first few research months of their fellowship. Collaborations for research often occur within the Division of Pediatric Endocrinology but also with disciplines outside our division such as Adult Endocrinology, Reproductive Endocrinology, Pathology/Immunology, and General Pediatrics. Fellows maintain one half-day weekly continuity clinic seeing pediatric endocrine patients, one half-day bi-weekly diabetes continuity clinic with one weekend a month of inpatient consultation. Fellows who wish to further pursue clinical/translational research have opportunities for additional graduate work in clinical research. The goal is for the fellow to transition to independent, mentored research funding with advancement in a research career track in academic medicine.
Fellows who identify as clinician educators can have their 3rd year tailored to optimize clinical opportunities to refine specialty-specific skills once their academic project is completed. Both pathways include all the required educational, clinical and research-based components for fellowship training to become an independent, board-certified endocrinologist.
Fellows are expected to present their work at national meetings and submit a manuscript by the end of their fellowship.
Camp attendance is encouraged and supported for 2nd and 3rd year fellows.
Our program utilizes 12-month blocks following the academic year SITE 1 = UF Health Shands Hospital.
The Clinic month during 2nd and 3rd year are designed to serve as an opportunity for fellows to optimize exposure to targeted subspecialty multidisciplinary clinics, triage acute referrals and newborn screens, and focus on outpatient diabetes education encompassing ADA new-onset education, technology transitions and medical nutrition therapy.
For fellows seeking to pursue a career as a “clinician-educator” any months marked as research may be converted to clinic months.