FELLOWS THROUGH THE YEARS
Khalil El-Chammas, MD - Graduated in July 2012 and became faculty member at Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines, IA. "As a current fellow in the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at the Medical College of Wisconsin (an ACGME-accredited fellowship), I have the privilege of working closely with experts in each of these fields. The attending physicians are experienced mentors with a wealth of research ideas and active projects. The expansive patient population allows for ample clinical experience and hands-on procedures including endoscopy, liver biopsy and motility studies. The program stresses the importance of continuing education with its diverse educational curriculum for fellows, faculty and staff. I benefit from outstanding teaching from clinic nurses, dietitians, psychologists and speech pathologists. The administrative personnel are also very helpful and care about my success.
Simply, the program fosters a well-rounded, supportive and caring ambiance that allows my development into a confident, academic-oriented pediatric gastroenterologist."
Vi Goh, MD - Graduated in July 2012 and became a faculty member at the University of Boston in Boston, MA. "The department of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition at the Medical College of Wisconsin is a unique blend of senior, experienced faculty who are experts within their field and young, enthusiastic junior faculty. They are excellent mentors, colleagues and friends. It is a friendly and supportive environment which encourages the growth of individual physicians in their own clinical, research and educational aspects. The fellows are exposed to a variety of interesting patients in the inpatient, outpatient and procedural settings. The ancillary support staff is superb with an outstanding group of administrative assistants, nurses, nurse practitioners, dieticians, speech pathologists and psychologists. My experience here has been great. I would definitely recommend this fellowship program to anyone who is interested in Pediatric Gastroenterology."
Thomas Ciecierega, DO - Graduated in July 2011 and became a faculty member at the Weill Cornell Medical College in New York. "This is an outstanding program and the faculty is well-balanced between senior, well-experienced staff and younger, very active, junior faculty. The Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition fellowship program at the Medical College of Wisconsin offers education in all areas of GI and Hepatology, including liver transplant. The faculty is doing a great job mentoring and guiding research projects, some of which are pioneering in their field. Time is nicely balanced between subspecialty clinics, inpatient service, nutrition and pathology lectures, research and procedures. We see the whole spectrum of pathology making this a very educational experience.
As fellows, we work together but have fun together from movie nights to sports outings and attending conferences to recreational sports. I would recommend for anyone interested in a Pediatric GI fellowship to stop by and learn more about our program. You might just decide to stay."
Jonathan Ramprasad, MD - Graduated in July 2011 and became a faculty member at Texas A&M College of Medicine. "I was attracted to the Pediatric Gastroenterology Fellowship program here at MCW because of the diverse faculty. We have experts in all fields within pediatric GI and I knew I would get top training here based on volume and breadth of the practice. The entire division was truly amazing in how helpful they were in the transition to both coming to Milwaukee and becoming a fellow. We are respected in our transition role from resident to fellow and are encouraged to think in a new way as a pediatric subspecialist. We get our hands-on endoscopic experience from day one - the procedures and training are fantastic.
The best thing is that faculty members have taken an active interest in exposing us to various types of educational and career pursuits in clinical, research and educational tracks. I always thought of myself a s a pure clinician but am happy to be able to venture out into a new realm of learning in the lab while continuing to become a better clinician. We see a vast scope of patient management styles and techniques and learn many ways to be a better gastroenterologist.
The camaraderie amongst the other fellows, staff, faculty and overall within the Department of Pediatrics has been great. The faculty is ultimately concerned with our learning and is constantly seeking ways for our educational experience to be better, which, at the end of the day, this is the most important aspect of this program.
I knew that coming here for my training would be a positive experience and it has been just that!"
Mutaz Sultan, MD - Graduated in July of 2011 and became a faculty member at Al-Makassed Hospital in Jerusalem. "I am honored to have been a part of such a unique dynamic and supportive program. It was a challenge but at the same time enjoyable. We are lucky having experienced attendings in every subspecialty in Pediatric Gastroenterology. This fellowship is an incredible learning experience in the clinical part as well as in research.
Additionally, the friends and relationships I have made will last well beyond the term of my fellowship. The fellowship experience is one that I will carry with me throughout the rest of my life. "
Kyle Jensen, MD - Graduated in July of 2010 and went to Cincinnati Children's Hospital and Medical Center to complete a 1-year Advanced Hepatology Fellowship. "I have enjoyed the training at the Medical College of Wisconsin and Children's Hospital of Wisconsin and am very satisfied with my training thus far. We were warmly welcomed to the area, having moved from a different region, and the sense of concern from faculty and staff, not only for my education and adjustment, but also for that of my wife and family has helped with this new transition.
We have a superb faculty with diverse interests including motility, nutrition, liver, inflammatory bowel disease and truly the entire spectrum is covered here. We have experts in each area, but most of all they are approachable, enjoy teaching and working closely with fellows, residents and students. The directors are focused on making us the best possible clinicians and researchers and work very closely to ensure we will have projects we not only feel passionate about, but that will help us reach our career goals.
There is ample opportunity to perform procedures with 1/2 a day weekly dedicated to endoscopy in addition to performing the inpatient procedures. We also have 1/2 day of clinic each week, where we have the opportunity to work closely with the attendings, but also have a great support staff of nurses, dietitians and our administrative staff helps with all of the details.
I was pleased with the opportunity to come here, but have been more impressed as I have played an active role in the program and have continued to receive good training."
Tonya Adamiak, MD - Graduated in July 2009 and became a faculty member at Sanford Children's Hospital in Sioux Falls, SD. "The Pediatric Gastroenterology Fellowship at the Medical College of Wisconsin has been a great experience. Between inpatient service, outpatient clinics, procedures and research projects, fellows are involved in all areas of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition. The attending physicians are experts within their field and are excellent mentors. I have had a fun time during my fellowship and would recommend this program to anybody interested in Pediatric Gastroenterology."
Muhammad Altaf, MD - Graduated in July 2009 and became a faculty member at the University of Oklahoma Health Science Clinic in Oklahoma City, OK. "The GI Fellowship program has been blessed with a unique blend of senior, well-experienced and outstanding faculty and young, enthusiastic investigators. The fellows have an excellent opportunity to find great mentors for their clinical and research interests. The weekly GI core conference, fellows teaching conference and interesting case conferences each impart a great deal of knowledge to a fellow's education and trigger evidence-based discussions. I am very fortunate and proud to have been a member of the family in the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology at the Medical College of Wisconsin. I have found good friends and great mentors."
Karen Francolla, MD - Graduated in July 2008 and joined private practice in Hackensack, NJ. "Training at the Medical College of Wisconsin has afforded me the opportunity to learn from a large staff of knowledgeable and caring Pediatric Gastroenterologists, many of whom are experts in their areas of special interest. This is a supportive environment, which encourages the growth of the individual physician in clinical, basic science, clinical research and educational pursuits. There is significant training in the areas of diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopy, as well as outpatient and inpatient clinical medicine."
Narayanan Venkatasubramani, MD - Graduated in July of 2008 and became a faculty member of Pediatric Gastroenterology at the Medical College of Wisconsin. "I have greatly enjoyed the years of my fellowship. The faculty, nursing staff and administrative staff are wonderful and it is a pleasure to work with such nice people. I have learned a lot in both the outpatient and inpatient setting. We were given plenty of experience with the procedures including EGD, colonoscopy, rectal biopsy and liver biopsy. I would recommend all the future pediatric GI fellows to seriously consider the Medical College of Wisconsin for their fellowship."
Vincent Biank, MD - Graduated in July of 2007 and became a faculty member of Pediatric Gastroenterology at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He left our group in 2011 and went to Northshore University Healthsystem in Evanston, IL.
Cass Smith, MD - Graduated in July of 2007 and joined a private practice in Idaho.
Joseph Skelton, MD - Graduated in July of 2006 and became a faculty member of Pediatric Gastroenterology at the Medical College of Wisconsin. He left our group in 2007 and went to Lake Forest University School of Medicine in North Carolina.
Dorota Walkiewicz, MD - Graduated in July of 2006 and joined the Pediatric Gastroenterology department at UW-Madison.
Daryl Fish, DO - Graduated in July of 2005 and joined Pediatric Gastroenterology at the Marshfield Clinic in Wisconsin.
Adrian Miranda, MD - Graduated in July of 2005 and became a faculty member of Pediatric Gastroenterology at the Medical College of Wisconsin.