Curriculum 

Our curriculum and rotation schedule offers a broad exposure to all aspects of Nephrology during the 1st year of Training.  During the 2nd year of training, Fellows have the opportunity to establish individualized pathways to meet their career goals.  Below is a description of the rotation structure and the core rotations.

Rotation Structure

a spreadsheet of a the nephrology fellowship rotation

HMH Inpatient Consult- The Houston Methodist Hospital (HMH) Nephrology Inpatient Consult rotation encompasses the full spectrum of acute kidney injury, chronic kidney disease, electrolyte derangements, acid-base disorders, and fluid balance.  It also involves management of kidney transplant recipients and multi-organ transplant, including simultaneous pancreas kidney, simultaneous liver kidney, simultaneous heart kidney, simultaneous lung kidney, and at times, combined heart-liver-kidney transplantation.  The Fellow will work closely with the Academic Nephrology Attendings.  Fellows rotate Monday-Friday, with overnight and weekend call responsibilities.

Renal Replacement Therapy- The Renal Replacement Therapy Rotation encompasses the outpatient care of dialysis patients including vascular access management, evaluation of pre-transplant candidates and the management of post-kidney transplant patients.  The Fellow will round at two dialysis centers in the Medical Center, gain exposure to in-center and home dialysis therapies, and longitudinally follow patients on home therapies.  The Fellow will gain outpatient experience in transplantation by attending clinic at the JC Walter Transplant Center at Houston Methodist. 

NDTA Transplant- The NDTA (Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplantation Associates) Transplant Nephrology Rotation encompasses the inpatient and outpatient care of the kidney transplant patient.  It also involves management of multi-organ transplants, including simultaneous pancreas kidney, simultaneous liver kidney, simultaneous heart kidney, simultaneous lung kidney, and at times, combined heart-liver-kidney transplant.  Fellows will be exposed to key principles of HLA, Immunosuppression, and Surgical and Medical complications in the post-transplant patient.  Fellows rotate Monday-Friday, without overnight or weekend call responsibilities for the private group.

NDTA Inpatient Consult- The NDTA (Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplantation Associates) Consult Rotation at Houston Methodist Hospital offers the fellows a robust, high-volume private practice experience.  It encompasses the inpatient and outpatient management of patients with a spectrum of acute and chronic kidney disease, electrolyte derangements, and acid-base abnormalities.  A special emphasis is placed on patients with CardioRenal Syndrome and HepatoRenal Syndrome.  Fellows rotate Monday-Friday, without overnight or weekend call responsibilities for the private group.

Plasmapheresis- The Apheresis Rotation at Houston Methodist allows the Fellow to round with four Clinical Pathologists who are board certified (ABP and AABB) in transfusion medicine.  The Apheresis Service performs 3000-4000 procedures per year, and the fellows are exposed to a broad array of therapeutic apheresis including therapeutic plasma exchanges, red cell exchanges, LDL apheresis, extracorporeal photopheresis and stem cell collections. Fellows rotate Monday-Friday, without overnight or weekend call responsibilities for the pheresis team.

Onconephrology- The Onconephrology rotation at MD Anderson provides exposure to the diagnosis and treatment of renal disease in cancer patients.  Through the rotation, the fellow will lean about unique management of nephrotoxicity from traditional chemotherapy and targeted therapy, renal disease after stem cell transplant, myeloma-related kidney disease, paraneoplastic renal disease, and electrolyte disorders secondary to cancer or cancer therapy.  Fellows rotate Monday-Friday, without overnight or weekend call responsibilities at MD Anderson.