Clinical Chemistry Fellowship
Aims Statement
What types of fellows is the program educating?
- Clinical and basic sciences doctoral graduates
- Biomedical Sciences doctoral graduates
- Pathology Residency graduates
What are their future roles and practice settings?
- Clinical Chemist
What types of trainees are being accepted into the program?
- Clinical and basic sciences doctoral graduates
- Biomedical Sciences doctoral graduates
- Pathology Residency graduates
What are the particular career training options being made possible by the program (e.g., clinical practice, academics, research, primary/generalist care)?
- Hospital-based Clinical chemist
- Academic-University Clinical Chemist
- Private Clinical Laboratories Clinical Chemist
- In-Vitro diagnostics Clinical Scientist / Chemist
What innovative objectives have been added to the program?
- Assay development and validation
- Laboratory tests utilization initiatives
- Rotations in Microbiology, Hematology, Coagulation, Molecular Diagnostics
- Laboratory leadership roles
Overview
The Clinical Chemistry Fellowship Program at UT Southwestern Medical Center is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Clinical Chemistry (ComACC). The Fellowship Program provides trainees with the knowledge and skills required to practice clinical chemistry in an academic medical center, community hospital, private clinical laboratories, or industrial setting, and to successfully complete the board examination in clinical chemistry administered by the American Board of Clinical Chemistry (ABCC).
Southwestern Medical Center is committed to an educational and working environment that provides equal opportunity to all members of the University community. As an equal opportunity employer, UT Southwestern prohibits unlawful discrimination, including discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, disability, genetic information, citizenship status, or veteran status.
Program Description
The Clinical Chemistry Fellowship Program duration is two years in length regardless of the applicant’s credentials and prior clinical chemistry experience.
The program has a complement of two fellows with one fellow accepted per year. The aim is to have a first year "junior fellow" and a second year "senior fellow" at any particular time during the program.
In addition to general clinical chemistry laboratory rotations, the Clinical Chemistry Fellowship Program offers exposure to practical laboratory training in pediatric clinical chemistry, hematology, coagulation, molecular diagnostics, forensic toxicology, and medical microbiology. Rotations include practical laboratory orientation and exposure, as well as clinical laboratory exposure through attending conferences with residents and faculty in that specialty.
On-call service activities provide the fellow with real-time exposure and an excellent training opportunity. The fellow is on-call for two weeks every month, which includes weekends. The fellow is the second on-call for technical and clinical calls. There is a pathology resident first on-call and a clinical chemistry faculty third on-call.
The fellow is expected to attend professional meetings such as American Association for Clinical Chemistry annual meeting and local TX-section AACC symposia. The fellow is also expected to submit a research abstract to AACC national and local pathology meetings and to submit a manuscript for publication.
Research
Besides participating in clinically oriented mini-research projects, the fellow will spend significant time in clinical practice acquiring additional management and presentation skills. Training follows an established curriculum as described in the Educational Goals section. The Clinical Chemistry laboratories are fully automated utilizing automated analytics and sample processing lines.
Requirements
Applicants must have earned a doctoral degree (Ph.D.) in clinical chemistry, biochemistry, chemistry, or other related biological sciences and/or a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) or Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) from an accredited university or college. M.D./D.O. applicants must either have or be eligible for Texas Medical License/Institutional permit.
Applicants with education obtained at institutions outside the U.S. or Canada must, at their expense, have their credentials evaluated by the International Education Research Foundations, Inc., or acceptable equivalent (as defined by the American Board of Clinical Chemistry).
Applicants must have successfully completed a minimum of 30 semester hours in undergraduate and/or graduate-level chemistry or biochemistry courses, taken at institutions acceptable to the American Board of Clinical Chemistry. At this time we do not accept H1b visas.
Benefits
- Financial support to attend conferences
- Educational funds
- Laptop
- Additional benefits dependent upon program