Adolescent Medicine Fellowship Program Curriculum and Schedule
Fellows in UT Southwestern's Adolescent Medicine Fellowship Program develop expertise in adolescent and young adult health across clinical care, communication, and scholarship. Training emphasizes preventive care, mental health, reproductive health, and the ability to navigate complex clinical and social needs. Fellows also build skills in teaching, quality improvement, and research.
Training is built on a combination of hands-on clinical care, structured teaching, and mentorship. Fellows learn through:
- High-volume clinical experiences and continuity clinic
- Weekly and monthly didactic sessions
- Case-based discussions and journal clubs
- Quality improvement and patient safety work
- Research training, including study design, data analysis, and scholarly writing
Fellows take an active role in leading discussions and shaping parts of the curriculum.
Training is guided by a multidisciplinary group of educators, including:
- Adolescent medicine faculty
- Subspecialty physicians and community partners
- Epidemiologists and research mentors
- Peers within adolescent medicine and across pediatric fellowships
This collaborative environment supports both clinical and academic development.
Rotations
Clinical and Training Experiences
Fellows rotate through a variety of clinical and community settings, including:
- Adolescent medicine clinic
- Eating disorders (inpatient and outpatient)
- School health
- Juvenile justice health
- Mental health services
- Pediatric and adolescent gynecology
- Foster care clinic
- Teen pregnancy care
- College health
- Pain management
- Community-based engagement
- Sports medicine
- Substance use recovery programs
- Trauma-informed care (including abuse and exploitation rotations)
- Private practice exposure
Clinical and research experiences are integrated throughout training, with flexibility to support each fellow's career goals.
Schedule and Call Responsibilities
Fellows follow a structured weekday schedule, typically Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., across a variety of clinical and educational rotations.
Call responsibilities are home-based, with a pager for consultative support. Call volume is low, and fellows are rarely required to come into the hospital after hours.
There are no routine overnight or weekend clinical duties. This schedule supports a strong clinical experience while maintaining time for rest, personal growth, and work-life integration.
Conferences
Fellows participate in a rich and structured conference schedule, including:
Program-Level Conferences (Adolescent Specific)
- Weekly fellowship program meetings focused on mentorship, strategy, and wellness
- Weekly national fellow sessions (Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine/Fellows in Adolescent Medicine Learning Initiative)
- Monthly journal club and core curriculum sessions aligned with board requirements
- Monthly quality improvement and patient safety meetings
- Monthly research and academic development sessions
- Regular wellness-focused gatherings
Department-Level Conferences
- Weekly Pediatrics Grand Rounds
- Weekly research and case conferences (optional/selected)
- Monthly research conferences and specialty grand rounds
- Annual fellowship core curriculum sessions on career development
Division-Level Conferences
- Quarterly division meetings focused on clinical operations and program development
- Monthly fellowship academic circle of enrichment (with adolescent medicine, child abuse, and developmental-behavioral pediatric fellows)
National/Regional Conferences
Fellows receive support to attend and present at national meetings, including:
- Society of Adolescent Health and Medicine (SAHM)
- North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology (NASPAG)
- Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS)
- Texas Pediatric Society (TPS)
These opportunities allow fellows to share their work, build professional networks, and stay current in the field.