Education

Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology
EDUCATION

The division’s fellowship program — directed by Patrick Northup, MD, with Brian Behm, MD, serving as assistant director — offers up to four general gastroenterology fellowships a year, as well as a one-year fellowship in transplant hepatology. The program is designed to produce consultant gastroenterologists who have mastered the cognitive and technical skills of a wide range of diagnostic techniques in gastroenterology as well as hepatology and nutrition.

In addition to their regular teaching responsibilities, division faculty members organize, coordinate and/or teach a number of extracurricular educational programs every year. Highlights from the 2014-2015 academic year include:

• The division’s 10th Annual UVA Liver Disease and Gastroenterology Conference, held at UVA’s Darden School of Business and attended by 127 physicians and other healthcare professionals.
• The 20th Annual James C. Respess Lecture, given by Nicholas Shaheen, MD, of the University of North Carolina, who spoke on “Misplaced Priorities and Barrett’s Esophagus.”
• The First Annual Betsy and Stuart Houston Lecture, given by Guadalupe Garcia-Tsao, MD, of Yale University, who spoke on “Management of Portal Hypertension.”
• The regional meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology, co-directed by Andrew Wang, MD, and held in Williamsburg, Virginia, in September 2014.

Two faculty members were honored with teaching awards in FY 2015. Neeral Shah, MD, received a 2015 Mulholland Society Award for Teaching Excellence in Foundations of Medicine, in recognition of his contributions to the NxGen curriculum; this is the second time Dr. Shah has won this student-run award. Curtis Argo, MD, received a 2015 Department of Medicine Excellence in Teaching Award.

Undergraduate and Graduate Education

Division of Gastroenterology faculty members make vital contributions to School of Medicine undergraduate and graduate education, including organizing and teaching the pre-clerkship “GI System” course, and participating in UVA School of Medicine’s Committee on Resident Education. The Pre-Clerkship GI System Course, part of the NxGen curriculum for first- and second-year medical students, continues to be highly rated by the students. For AY 2014–2015, Dr. Shah and Anne Tuskey, MD, incorporated new and innovative teaching models, including virtual morning report cases and mobile apps, to augment the in-class experience. Dr. Shah also continues his role as co-chair of pre-clerkship systems (groups of courses) in the medical school’s NxGen curriculum.

The Committee on Resident Education (CORE), which provides oversight for the Internal Medicine Residency Program, includes three faculty members from gastroenterology, all of whom have served in previous years: Jeanetta Frye, MD, Dr. Shah (who also serves as associate program director for the IM Residency Program); and Dr. Tuskey. As part of their CORE role, they mentor internal medicine residents and serve on the intern selection committee.

Post-Graduate Education

For AY 2014–2015, the division’s fellows* were:

Third-Year Fellows:

• Andrew Copland
• Amy Rubin
• Sean Rudnick

Second-Year Fellows:

• Amy Doran
• Darius Jahann
• Charles Orton
• Jonathan Stine

First-Year Fellows:

• Maithili Chitnavis (from Virginia Commonwealth University)
• Justin Gomez (from University of Florida)
• Jeffrey LaFond (from George Washington University)
• Jubeen Moaven (from Thomas Jefferson University)

Entering first-year fellows for AY 2015–2016 are:

• Isaac Cline
• Mike McCabe
• Elliot Smith
• Caitlin Sullivan
• Teresa Valentin

[*All fellows are MDs.]