The Rheumatologist
COVID-19 NewsACR Convergence
  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed
  • Home
  • Conditions
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis
    • SLE (Lupus)
    • Crystal Arthritis
      • Gout Resource Center
    • Spondyloarthritis
    • Osteoarthritis
    • Soft Tissue Pain
    • Scleroderma
    • Vasculitis
    • Systemic Inflammatory Syndromes
    • Guidelines
  • Resource Centers
    • Axial Spondyloarthritis Resource Center
    • Gout Resource Center
    • Psoriatic Arthritis Resource Center
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis Resource Center
    • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Resource Center
  • Drug Updates
    • Biologics & Biosimilars
    • DMARDs & Immunosuppressives
    • Topical Drugs
    • Analgesics
    • Safety
    • Pharma Co. News
  • Professional Topics
    • Ethics
    • Legal
    • Legislation & Advocacy
    • Career Development
      • Certification
      • Education & Training
    • Awards
    • Profiles
    • President’s Perspective
    • Rheuminations
    • Interprofessional Perspective
  • Practice Management
    • Billing/Coding
    • Quality Assurance/Improvement
    • Workforce
    • Facility
    • Patient Perspective
    • Electronic Health Records
    • Apps
    • Information Technology
    • From the College
    • Multimedia
      • Audio
      • Video
  • Resources
    • Issue Archives
    • ACR Convergence
      • Gout Resource Center
      • Axial Spondyloarthritis Resource Center
      • Psoriatic Arthritis
      • Abstracts
      • Meeting Reports
      • ACR Convergence Home
    • American College of Rheumatology
    • ACR ExamRheum
    • Research Reviews
    • ACR Journals
      • Arthritis & Rheumatology
      • Arthritis Care & Research
      • ACR Open Rheumatology
    • Rheumatology Image Library
    • Treatment Guidelines
    • Rheumatology Research Foundation
    • Events
  • About Us
    • Mission/Vision
    • Meet the Authors
    • Meet the Editors
    • Contribute to The Rheumatologist
    • Subscription
    • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Search
You are here: Home / Articles / How to Launch a Rheumatology Fellowship Program

How to Launch a Rheumatology Fellowship Program

January 1, 2015 • By Mary Beth Nierengarten

  • Tweet
  • Email
Print-Friendly Version / Save PDF
A fellowship program allows physicians to gain clinical and research training in a chosen subspecialty.
A fellowship program allows physicians to gain clinical and research training in a chosen subspecialty.

As a way to gain clinical and research training in a chosen subspecialty, completing a fellowship provides young physicians with additional tools to advance their careers. To meet the growing and evolving needs of training young physicians in the specifics of a subspecialty, fellowship programs need to adapt to ever-changing educational requirements to receive the necessary accreditation and meet ongoing funding challenges.

You Might Also Like
  • REF Fellowship Training Award Expanded
  • From the Expert: Dr. Anne Bass Addresses Fellowship Training in Rheumatology
  • Rheumatology Fellowship Training in the U.S.: The REF Stimulus
Explore This Issue
January 2015
Also By This Author
  • Diagnosing, Treating IgG4-Related Disease

Launching a new fellowship program can be daunting given these challenges. What are the key challenges in launching a new fellowship program in rheumatology or pediatric rheumatology? Who are the key people that need to be involved in successfully launching the program? What challenges remain going forward once a program is launched?

ad goes here:advert-1
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

These were some of the questions posed to program directors of several rheumatology fellowship programs across the U.S. The programs in this article were all launched in the past several years and, therefore, offer a fresh perspective on the current requirements and challenges of developing a rheumatology fellowship program.

Funding, Funding, Funding

A key, if not the key, to launching a successful fellowship program in rheumatology or pediatric rheumatology is finding the money to support fellows. To that end, support from the Department of Medicine or hospital is crucial.

ad goes here:advert-2
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

“Everyone agrees that support from the Department of Medicine is the anchor to starting a fellowship program,” says W. Neal Roberts, MD, program director of the Fellowship Program at the University of Louisville, Ky. “Their buy-in is key.”

Dr. Roberts, who is chief of the Division of Rheumatology and a professor of medicine at the University of Louisville, relaunched the university’s fellowship program in March 2013 within the larger context of revamping the entire rheumatology division. Therefore, he says initial partial funding for its fellowship program came from the university, but the funding will eventually come from the Department of Medicine as well as the local Veterans Affairs Hospital. Other monies, he says, will come from grants, endowments and clinical activities within the division.

Calling the initial funding a “recruitment startup package expense,” he says this “early phase” of funding is easy because of the support of the Department of Medicine. “But expanding beyond the initial program into a more stable program with additional faculty and fellows is a very difficult next step,” he says.

ad goes here:advert-3
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

Currently, his fellowship program is a two-year program, with an option for an additional research year. One new fellow is recruited each year. With more funding, he’d like to see the program grow from one fellow the first year to two fellows the second year.

Pages: 1 2 3 4 | Single Page

Filed Under: Career Development, Education & Training, Professional Topics Tagged With: fellowship, launch, Nierengarten, program, rheumatologyIssue: January 2015

You Might Also Like:
  • REF Fellowship Training Award Expanded
  • From the Expert: Dr. Anne Bass Addresses Fellowship Training in Rheumatology
  • Rheumatology Fellowship Training in the U.S.: The REF Stimulus
  • The ACR Supports the Rheumatology Workforce

Rheumatology Research Foundation

The Foundation is the largest private funding source for rheumatology research and training in the U.S.

Learn more »

Meeting Abstracts

Browse and search abstracts from the ACR Convergence and ACR/ARP Annual Meetings going back to 2012.

Visit the Abstracts site »

American College of Rheumatology

Visit the official website for the American College of Rheumatology.

Visit the ACR »

The Rheumatologist newsmagazine reports on issues and trends in the management and treatment of rheumatic diseases. The Rheumatologist reaches 11,500 rheumatologists, internists, orthopedic surgeons, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, and other healthcare professionals who practice, research, or teach in the field of rheumatology.

About Us / Contact Us / Advertise / Privacy Policy / Terms of Use / Cookie Preferences

  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed

Copyright © 2006–2023 American College of Rheumatology. All rights reserved.

ISSN 1931-3268 (print)
ISSN 1931-3209 (online)