Pediatric Nephrology Fellowship Program

Our fellowship program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). There is funding for one or two new fellows each year (four positions total) to be fully supported through the entire three-year program.

First-year fellows spend nearly the entire year dedicated to clinical activities. Second- and third-year fellows primarily spend their time in research (16 months clinical emphasis and 20 months research emphasis).

First year

Clinical training (10 months)

• Manage patients with a wide variety of kidney disorders
• Assignments to the inpatient wards
• Learn skills, such as renal biopsy and ordering dialysis
• Provide consultation to other services, including the Pediatric, Neonatal and Cardiac Intensive Care Units
• Manage all acute dialysis modalities and a high volume of continuous renal replacement, predominately in the form of CVVH
• Manage all perioperative phases of pediatric renal transplant recipients
• Gain advanced knowledge of fluid and electrolyte management

One month entails full-time assignment to the Children’s at Egleston affiliated hemodialysis unit where fellows have in-depth training in principles, literature and application of dialysis as well as the opportunity for hands-on familiarity with hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis equipment and techniques.

Introduction to research (2 months)

• Two months of the first year are dedicated to research orientation with an initial opportunity for project selection
• Fellows also participate in department-wide courses in Research Fundamentals, Teaching to Teach, Medical Ethics and Quality Improvement methodologies

Second year

Research

• Consecutive research months in which fellows finalize the selection of research projects and mentors and initiate selected projects

Clinical assignments (2 months)
One month will be a mixture of important experiences including a course with Dr. Charles O’Neill in the Emory Department of Medicine Division of Nephrology, learning ultrasound for the nephrologist. This course is virtually unique in the country and one that numerous practicing nephrologists have taken with excellent reviews.

Additional experiences include teaching sessions with the Emory Histocompatibility (HLA) laboratory, observation of pediatric renal transplant surgeries, interactions with our pediatric renal pathologists, and clinical sessions with our pediatric urology colleagues.

Third year

• Completion of research project, abstract(s) and manuscript(s)
• Completion of Quality Improvement project
• Advanced clinical responsibilities in the inpatient wards (2 months)

Continuity clinics

During the entire three-year training period, fellows attend assigned continuity outpatient clinics a half day per week under the supervision of the program director.

On-call schedule

• Fellows take weekend call on average every fourth weekend throughout the three-year training period and weeknight call twice weekly during inpatient weeks only. Night call is always taken from home. An attending pediatric nephrologist is always on back-up call with the fellow.
• Fellows on-call round with the attending physician on the inpatient service during weekends and holidays.
• Fellows will average three two-day weekends off every four weeks.

Vacation
Fellows are entitled to three weeks of vacation per year that may be taken at any time during research or outpatient rotation months with approval from the program director.

Advocacy
Each fellow is given the opportunity to attend Camp Independence—one of the oldest and largest camps in the country for children with kidney failure. Camp Independence takes place one week each summer at Camp Twin Lakes, a venue developed specifically to provide life-changing programs to Georgia’s children with serious illnesses, disabilities and other challenges.

Learn more about Camp Independence

In addition to clinical training, fellows pursue mentored research. The area(s) of concentration will be selected based on the interest of the fellow who is responsible for designing, implementing and completing a hypothesis-driven project with the guidance of a Scholarship Oversight Committee of advisors and mentors.

Fellows are encouraged (albeit not required) to apply for and secure external funding for their research endeavors and submit the results of their research for dissemination in an appropriate scholarly venue. Research opportunities are diverse and plentiful and may include collaboration with investigators from other divisions, departments or schools within Emory University.

Fellows interested in a career focused on clinical research are encouraged to apply for Emory's Master of Science in Clinical Research (MSCR) program.

Teaching is enhanced by a highly organized curriculum comprised of a variety of conferences and seminars that are offered throughout the year.

Daily Conferences

• Multidisciplinary Inpatient Care Rounds

Weekly Conferences

• Practical Nephropathology Course for Nephrology Fellows (first year)
• Emory Adult Nephrology Grand Rounds
• Pediatric Departmental Grand Rounds
• Emory Transplant Conference

Monthly Conferences

• Pediatric Nephrology Renal Pathology Conference
• Pediatric Nephrology Journal Club
• Pediatric Nephrology Invitee Conference
• Pediatric Nephrology Orientation and Core Curriculum Course
• Multidisciplinary Pediatric Renal Transplant Patient Care Conference
• Multidisciplinary Patient Care Dialysis Conference
• Combined Urology and Nephrology Conference

Quarterly Conferences

• Research in Progress Seminar
• Combined Rheumatology and Nephrology Journal Club

In order to be considered, applicants must have completed an accredited three-year pediatric residency by the beginning of the fellowship program.

A completed application file includes:

1. Completed application form
2. Current curriculum vitae
3. Personal statement including:
   1. Description of previous research and clinical experience
   2. Reason for interest in a pediatric nephrology fellowship
   3. Indication of career goals
4. Three letters of reference (One should be from the director of residency training program)
5. United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Steps 1, 2 and 3 Score Reports
6. Official medical school transcript
7. Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) report, if applicable
8. Recent photograph (optional)

Interviews are required. Application selection is done through the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP).

Contact Barry Warshaw, M.D. with questions.
Email: bwarsha@emory.edu

Children’s Nephrology program boasts one of the country’s largest and most diverse faculties by virtue of age, experience, gender and ethnicity. Each faculty member is unified in supporting fellows both professionally and personally.

Our leadership
Larry Greenbaum, M.D., Ph.D., Chief of Pediatric Nephrology, is a highly respected clinician who balances an incredible portfolio of clinical research studies while actively supporting his faculty and fellows. He is a national academic leader who brings a special passion and energy to his patients and co-workers.

Barry Warshaw, M.D., Nephrology Fellowship Program Director and Medical Director of the Kidney Transplant Program, is a distinguished physician who has helped lead the Children’s nephrology and kidney transplant programs for more than 35 years. He serves as the primary mentor for the weekly fellow continuity clinic and as an inpatient attending physician who rotates with the full nephrology faculty.

• Alana Karp, M.D.
• Loretta Reyes, M.D.
• Rima Zahr, D.O.

Meet the nephrology team