DIGEST: Developing innovative gastroenterology specialty training

Sarah Shrager Lusman; Drucy Borowitz; Bruce C Marshall; Michael R Narkewicz; Tanja Gonska; Richard J Grand; Richard H Simon; Maria R Mascarenhas; Sarah Jane Schwarzenberg; Steven D Freedman

doi:10.1016/j.jcf.2020.07.012

DIGEST: Developing innovative gastroenterology specialty training

J Cyst Fibros. 2021 Jul;20(4):586-590. doi: 10.1016/j.jcf.2020.07.012. Epub 2020 Jul 29.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, United States. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Bethesda, Maryland and State University of New York at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Buffalo, NY, United States.
³ Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Bethesda, MD, United States.
⁴ Digestive Health Institute, Children's Hospital Colorado and Section of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, University of Colorado Anschutz School of Medicine, Aurora, CO, United States.
⁵ The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Ontario, Toronto, Canada.
⁶ Division of Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.
⁷ University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, United States.
⁸ Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States.
⁹ University of Minnesota Masonic Childrens Hospital, Minneapolis, MN, United States.
¹⁰ Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.

Abstract

Individuals with cystic fibrosis (CF) now have an increased life expectancy, due to advances in care provided by a multidisciplinary team. The care model has expanded over time to include multiple subspecialties. The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation conducted a survey of Care Center Directors and identified a need for pediatric and adult gastroenterologists with expertise in the diagnosis and treatment of intestinal, pancreatic and hepatic complications of CF. To address this need, the Developing Innovative GastroEnterology Specialty Training (DIGEST) program was created. The development, implementation, and early results of this training program are reported herein.

Keywords: Gastroenterology; Hepatology; Nutrition; Training.

MeSH terms

Curriculum*
Cystic Fibrosis* / complications
Gastroenterology / education*
Gastrointestinal Diseases* / diagnosis
Gastrointestinal Diseases* / etiology
Gastrointestinal Diseases* / therapy
Humans
Medicine