Education and Training

PED-241C – The course is designed to provide experience in diagnosis, interpretations of laboratory tests, natural history, and treatment of acute and chronic disorders of the kidney in children. The student is also exposed to the management of fluid and electrolyte disorders in infants and children. 

Contact
Delbert Wigfall, MD
919.684.4246
delbert.wigfall@duke.edu

Residents rotate through DUMC clinics, wards and, if appropriate due to inpatient or outpatient needs, the dialysis unit. The objective of the rotation is to gain an understanding of the subspecialty, the aims of therapy, and new directions in clinical practice. It is expected that the resident will gain an understanding of general nephrology, including fluid and electrolytes, urinary tract structural anomalies, infections, hematuria, proteinuria, hypertension, and other nephrological disorders. 

The resident has the opportunity to view pertinent radiological studies, as well as the opportunity to review pathology, and immunopathology. In addition, the resident has the opportunity to care for patients with glomerulonephritis, nephrotic syndrome, acute kidney injury, hypertension, SLE, urinary tract abnormalities, chronic renal failure, and a kidney transplant. The resident also learns the basics of renal replacement therapies including peritoneal dialysis, ultrafiltration, and hemodialysis. The rotation includes Nephrology clinic every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoon in the Children's Health Center at Duke, as well as Tuesday in Raleigh. Patients are also seen in consultation on the wards and in the ICUs. The resident will manage, with attending staff direction, nephrology inpatients. 
 
Teaching and rounding sessions include:

• Nephrology conference on Friday mornings* 
• Journal club on Thursday morning*
• Daily rounds with staff on in-patients 
• Daily didactic lectures, scheduled informally as to not interfere with rounds or other patient care, by the pediatric nephrology attendings 

The outpatient clinics include individual discussions of each patient with an attending to discuss the work-up, management, and pathophysiology of the disease. Attention will also be given to understanding the physical and psychological consequences of chronic disease. The residents are expected to work on achieving the objectives of the pediatric nephrology electives. Several textbooks of pediatric nephrology are available as well as a collection of pediatric nephrology reprints.This is a full-time experience that should serve as a broad-based introduction to clinical pediatric nephrology.  Interested residents have the opportunity to pursue clinical and laboratory research in pediatric nephrology.   

* Joint conferences with adult nephrology
 
Contact
​Shashi Nagaraj, MBBS
​919.684.4246
shashi.nagaraj@duke.edu

Duke University Medical Center (DUMC) is a nationally-recognized academic medical center with superb clinical and laboratory resources coupled with an intellectual environment that is supportive and conducive to the development of an academic career. DUMC includes Duke University Hospital, a tertiary and quaternary-care hospital, which is consistently rated as one of the top hospitals in the United States. DUMC is a vibrant, interactive, scientific community where ideas are actively discussed and exchanged among scientists with clinical research and basic science expertise, providing the opportunity for true multi-disciplinary research and clinical care.

In brief, our fellowship program offers an active clinical program, a top quality research opportunity, and a desirable place to live. We have a vibrant faculty with a wide range of clinical and research interests, set in the background of a major university and medical center where there are countless experts in numerous nephrology disease-related fields. Please follow the link below to learn more about our fellowship program.