Gastroenterology Fellowship Program

Mercy Medical Center Clinical Scholar Program (Gastroenterology Fellowship Program)

The Institute for Digestive Health and Liver Disease at Mercy Medical Center offers a three-year Gastroenterology and Hepatology fellowship program, accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and in conjunction with the University of Maryland School of Medicine. This fellowship provides comprehensive clinical and research training that prepares graduates for a career as academic clinical investigators, academic clinician-educators or for clinical practice.

Mercy Medical Center Clinical Scholar Program

Under the leadership of Medical Director Paul J. Thuluvath, M.D., The Institute for Digestive Health and Liver Disease at Mercy Medical Center offers a three-year Gastroenterology and Hepatology fellowship program, accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and in conjunction with the University of Maryland School of Medicine. This fellowship provides comprehensive clinical and research training that prepares graduates for a career as academic clinical investigators, academic clinician-educators or for clinical practice.

Mercy Medical Center and the University of Maryland have a long-standing relationship in providing high-quality fellowship training for a variety of specialty areas. Both institutions have a strong commitment to advancing medicine through teaching, training and mentorship.

Mercy offers the unique experience of providing tertiary care and referral center-level care at a university-affiliated community hospital with several renowned national and international authorities on faculty.

How to Apply

Eligibility: Applicants must be board eligible in Internal Medicine prior to starting the program. This usually requires that the applicant is either currently enrolled or will have completed a 3-year residency in an approved Internal Medicine training program within the United States.

How to Apply: Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) is used to submit applications to our program through the University of Maryland Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. See the UMMC website for application details.

Contact Information

For more information, please contact Fellowship Coordinator at (410) 332-9356.

Program Description

The goal of our fellowship program is to train exceptional, well-rounded academic and clinical gastroenterologists who will excel in patient care, teaching, and research. Six core areas of focus for our fellows include patient care, endoscopic skills, clinic-based learning and improvement, interpersonal and communication skills, research, and systems-based practice.

Year 1:

The first year of the fellowship is completed at the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) and Baltimore VA Medical Center (BVAMC). The curriculum for the year is comparable to the core UMMC program. Fellows participate in multiple rotations to include approximately six months general gastroenterology consults service with the remaining six months dedicated to hepatology/transplant consults, inflammatory bowel disease consults, advanced endoscopy, elective rotation and midtown consults. Fellows also participate in weekly continuity care at the VA. Home call on nights and weekends are shared amongst all fellows and is supervised by an attending physician over the phone or in person if a procedure is indicated. On weekends, rounds on inpatient consults are conducted with an attending physician.

Year 2 & 3:

The second and third years of the fellowship are completed at The Institute for Digestive Health and Liver Disease at Mercy Medical Center. The curriculum includes rotations in gastroenterology consults, hepatology consults, advanced endoscopy consults, IBD consults, endoscopy, elective, and clinical research. Fellows enhance their skills in the various disciplines with opportunity for dedicated exposure to specific areas of interests. Home call on nights and weekends are shared amongst all fellows and is supervised by an attending physician over the phone or in person if a procedure is indicated. On weekends, rounds on inpatient consults are conducted with an attending physician.

Outpatient Endoscopy:

Fellows are given dedicated endoscopy training. In addition, second and third year fellows are allotted one half-day per week of endoscopy time. Lastly, fellows perform the necessary procedures on patients seen during a consultative rotation.

Outpatient Continuity Clinic:

All fellows participate in 12-18 months of weekly continuity clinic at Mercy during the second and third year, directly supervised by a dedicated attending physician.

General GI Consultation:
  • Inpatient consultations and procedures
  • Approximately 6 months over the first year, 2-4 months in the second and third years
  • Consultations at Mercy
  • Weekly outpatient clinic
Advanced Endoscopy Consults:
  • Inpatient pancreaticobiliary consults at Mercy
  • Inpatient and outpatient ERCP, EUS, stent, RFA, and cryotherapy of Barrett's esophagus, single balloon enteroscopy, EMR, ESD, POEM
IBD Consults:
  • Inpatient IBD consults and procedures at Mercy
  • Outpatient IBD clinic
  • Dedicated conferences include monthly multidisciplinary patient care conference, IBD-LIVE (monthly multi-institutional multidisciplinary conference)
Elective Rotations:

Fellows have the opportunity to pursue internal or external elective rotations in their second and third year, based on personal interest and future career goals. Examples of elective rotations include motility, bariatric endoscopy, advanced therapies and management of patients with Barrett's esophagus, intensive outpatient hepatology, or intensive outpatient IBD experience.

Call:

The division provides 24-hours/day service throughout the year. All fellows participate in home call on nights and weekends, with attending supervision by phone or in person if a procedure is required. A call room is available if needed for overnight stay. On weekends, rounds on inpatient consults are conducted with an attending physician.

Research:

Fellows are required to have ongoing research project(s) during the second and third years, resulting in presentations at national conferences and manuscript submission. Most ongoing projects in the department are in hepatology and advanced endoscopy; however, research can be pursued in other areas based on fellow interests. Protected time will be provided for scholarly pursuits.

Leadership, Faculty & Alumni

 

Leadership


Program Chair
Dr. Paul Thuluvath, Medical Director, The Institute for Digestive Health and Liver Disease at Mercy

Program Director
Dr. Matilda Hagan, Medical Co-Director, The Center for Inflammatory Bowel and Colorectal Diseases at Mercy

Associate Program Director
Dr. Elinor Zhou

Faculty

Faculty for this fellowship opportunity includes the full team of GI specialists of The Institute for Digestive Health and Liver Disease at Mercy.

 
Fellows 


PGY 5 - 1st Year Gastroenterology Fellow – Andrew Ma, MD

  • Medical Education: New York University Grossman School of Medicine
  • Residency: University of Maryland Medical Center


PGY 5 - 2nd Year Gastroenterology Fellow –Thi Nhu Khuc, MD

  • Medical Education: University of Virginia School of Medicine
  • Residency: Loma Linda University


PGY 6 – 3rd Year Gastroenterology Fellow – Gordon Robbins, MD

  • Medical Education: Emory University School of Medicine
  • Residency: Emory University School of Medicine
 
Alumni Career Pathways


Navdeep Chehl, MD (2019)

  • Medical Education: Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University
  • Residency: Rush University Medical Center


Alan Chen, MD (2020)

  • Medical Education: Duke University School of Medicine
  • Residency: The Ohio State University


Amol Agarwal, MD (2021)

  • Medical Education: Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
  • Residency: Johns Hopkins Hospital