Medical students

Description: Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition is a clinical elective offered through Harvard Medical School (PD515M.7). Medical students from Harvard, as well as exchange students from other programs, are welcome to complete rotations on our inpatient, consult, hepatology, and nutrition services. Students will be introduced to the broad range of gastrointestinal and hepatic diseases encountered in infants, children, and adolescents. Students will have an opportunity to participate in the management of patients admitted to our inpatient and hepatology services, as well as ambulatory patients seen in a number of subspecialty clinics. The exact schedule can be tailored to the specific interests of the student. Over the course of the elective, the student will work closely with several attending physicians. Students will be encouraged observe endoscopic and motility procedures. An extensive conference schedule, emphasizing pathophysiology, clinical presentation, and evidence-based management of gastrointestinal diseases, is available for the student.

More information/how to apply: Students should contact the Harvard Medical School registrar’s office regarding relevant application requirements and fees.

Pediatric Nutrition Rotation (PD526M.7): This course will provide the student with an intensive approach to nutritional problems in the hospitalized patient and to general topics in pediatric nutrition. Activities will include: didactic and clinical experience in pediatric nutrition, patient contact, bedside teaching, rounds and conferences, and independent study in nutrition. The student will take histories, assess nutritional status, and develop a plan for the patient’s management. A senior member of the faculty will serve as a tutor.

Rotating residents and fellows from ACME-accredited programs

If you are interested in participating as either an observer or a rotator on our GI inpatient and/or consult services, please provide the following materials:

• curriculum vitae or resume
• letter of reference
• short paragraph describing your interest in gastroenterology, nutrition, and hepatology, and identifying your educational goals for this elective

These materials should be submitted electronically to Paul A. Rufo, MD, MMSc, at paul.rufo@childrens.harvard.edu. Dr. Rufo can be reached at 617-355-2962 if you have any questions or special requests.

Description: Residents outside of the Boston Combined Residency Program in Pediatrics (BCPR) can complete elective rotations on our inpatient, consult, and ambulatory programs as rotators.

Rotating residents: Rotators are residents or fellows from training programs based outside of Boston Children’s Hospital. They participate in clinical care (e.g. seeing patients and presenting the cases to a preceptor) as affiliating house staff.

Resident/fellow applicants from Massachusetts-based training programs must contact Paul A. Rufo, MD, MMSc, at 617-355-2962 or paul.rufo@childrens.harvard.edu at least three months ahead of the date they would like to begin the rotation to obtain necessary affiliating house staff application packet. The application consists of the following:

• copy of Massachusetts Limited License OR copy of full license and license application
• proof of malpractice insurance
• curriculum vitae or resume
• board certificate (if applicable)
• ECFMG certificate (if applicable)
• attestation form (will be sent to you as part of the application packet)

In addition to completing the affiliating house staff application packet, rotating residents from training programs located outside of Massachusetts must obtain a Massachusetts Limited License and therefore should contact Paul A. Rufo, MD, MMSc. Limited License applications must be turned in to the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine AT LEAST EIGHT WEEKS IN ADVANCE of start date: i.e. if you plan on starting on September 1, your application MUST REACH the Board on July 1.

An affiliation and training program agreement must be in place for both in-state and out-of-state rotators. Applicants should contact Paul A. Rufo, MD, MMSc, early in the application process to either verify that the appropriate agreements are in place or to start the process to put them in place prior to beginning the clinical rotation. Completion of agreements can take up to two months, therefore please plan accordingly.

Observerships: At this time, the GI service is unable to offer short-term observerships. If you wanted to participate in a more long-term experience (typically lasting for nine to 12 months), then please contact Dr. Rufo directly (paul.rufo@childrens.harvard.edu) to discuss your interests and goals. Observers will need the support of an individual faculty mentor who will be responsible for overseeing your stay in our program. Observerships typically include some direct clinical observation, didactic lectures, and participation in a research project. The division does not have financial resources to support these observerships.