The Boston University Medical Center (BUMC) Rheumatology Fellowship Program provides organized training and supervision experience over two years, sufficient for the trainee to acquire proficiency as a consultant in rheumatology. The program provides both the facilities and clinical experience with supervision to achieve this goal. The facilities include inpatient facilities at Boston Medical Center and at the Boston VA Medical Center. Each is fully equipped with imaging facilities (including computerized tomography and magnetic resonance imaging), a fully equipped clinical laboratory on a 24 hr basis and has a polarized light microscope available for use by the fellows. Point of care ultrasound equipment is available in the rheumatology clinics at each site. Meaningful working relationships with faculty in radiology and orthopedic surgery are available at each site in the program.
The clinical experience in BUMC Rheumatology includes supervised membership in a multidisciplinary team caring for both inpatients and outpatients with a wide variety of rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases and other illnesses with rheumatologic or musculoskeletal manifestations. Fellows are given the opportunity to assume responsibility for and follow patients throughout the training period. Additional specialized outpatient training is available in scleroderma, musculoskeletal ultrasound, lupus, dermatology/rheumatology clinic, sarcoidosis, and pediatric rheumatology
The program provides sufficient specific experience for the fellow to acquire skill in: 1) the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, glucocorticoids, cytotoxic drugs, biologic response modifiers, antihyperuricemic drugs and antibiotic therapy for infectious musculoskeletal diseases; 2) examination of the musculoskeletal system; 3) the development of differential diagnoses for complexes of symptoms and signs related to rheumatic disease; 4) the diagnostic aspiration and analysis by light and compensated polarized microscopy of synovial fluid; 5) the therapeutic injection of diarthrodial joints, bursae, tenosynovial structures and entheses; and 6) musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSK-US) in the diagnosis and monitoring of inflammatory and other disorders of tendons, ligaments, and joints. Additional experience is provided in the interpretation of pathologic material, bone and joint imaging techniques, bone density interpretation, nailfold capillary microscopy, arthroscopy indications and interpretation of electromyography and nerve conduction studies. Formal instruction in the major areas of rheumatology is provided in the Fellow Curriculum series of lectures and is supplemented by Rheumatology Grand Rounds, Medical Grand Rounds, and Dermatology-Rheumatology Grand Rounds.
Mission
The BUMC Rheumatology fellowship program mission is to train rheumatologists who can accurately diagnose both common and rare rheumatic diseases, deliver compassionate care to people with these diseases based on evidence and accounting for the individual’s social circumstances, and critically evaluate and engage in emerging research.
Aims
- To train fellows in the diagnosis and treatment of both common and rare rheumatic diseases including through multidisciplinary care.
- To expose fellows to research methodologies that include clinical, translational, and basic science research concepts.
- To prepare fellows for the use of imaging technologies in clinical practice.
- To engage fellows in a diverse and multicultural training experience which allows them to understand the impact of social and cultural circumstances on health outcomes
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Leadership
Fellowship Virtual Tour
Application Process
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Updated June 25, 2021