Nephrology Los Angeles Medical Center / Cedars-Sinai - Curriculum

The Program

The LAMC’s Nephrology Department is staffed by 11 full-time nephrologists, all of whom are actively involved in teaching, patient care, and research.

The core of the Nephrology unit is a 28-bed hemodialysis unit and a special section for home-training programs including peritoneal dialysis.

In addition, we have the following services: General Nephrology Clinic, Transplant Clinic, and a very active inpatient Nephrology consultation services. A Urology/Nephrology jointly run Stone Clinic is held weekly as well as a biweekly Renal Genetics Clinic and a tertiary care Glomerulonephritis Clinic.

Our renal transplantation program is offered in conjunction with the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. The first- and second year renal fellows will rotate through the transplantation service at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Additionally, the fellows work closely with our 3 full-time regional transplant nephrologists at LAMC, providing inpatient and outpatient care of kidney transplant patients.

The Fellowship Training Program in Nephrology is a two-year program. We accept four first-year fellows annually. It is a clinically oriented but well-rounded program covering all aspects of nephrology, including dialysis, apheresis, renal pathology, radiology, and transplantation, with abundant opportunities for clinical research. Each fellow will rotate through the different phases of the fellowship program two weeks blocks, often having the opportunity to work with medical residents and medical students on the team.

The purpose of our fellowship program is to provide basic knowledge of the anatomy, physiology, and pathophysiology of the kidneys; knowledge of renal diseases, fluids, and electrolytes; work-up and management of patients with renal diseases; proficiency in the techniques of acute and chronic hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, and continuous renal replacement therapies and apheresis; basic knowledge of transplantation, and experience in clinical research methodology. The program is designed to develop well rounded, competent clinical nephrologists.

Dedicated research time is provided to allow fellows to conduct clinical research projects utilizing the many clinical databases available within Kaiser Permanente. Participation in research is required.

Teaching Program

Designed in accordance with the ACGME guidelines.

  • Board Review
  • Nephrology Conferences
  • Renal Grand Rounds
  • Pathophysiology/Journal Club: biweekly
  • Seminal Article Reviews
  • Renal Pathology Conference: weekly
  • Multidisciplinary Case Conference: weekly
  • Regional Renal Grand Rounds: monthly
  • Research Conference: monthly
  • Fellows’ Quality Improvement meetings: bimonthly
  • Physician Wellness conferences

Clinical Experiences & Rotations

  • Inpatient Nephrology Consultations: LAMC and Cedars-Sinai
  • Outpatient Hemodialysis Unit Rounds
  • Outpatient Home Dialysis Clinic
  • Outpatient Nephrology Continuity Clinic
  • Inpatient Renal Transplant Service: Cedars-Sinai
  • Renal Transplant Clinic: Cedars-Sinai
  • Stone Clinic and Renal Transplant Clinic (Kaiser)
  • Renal Genetics Clinic
  • Glomerulonephritis Clinic

Activities of the Fellow

  • Active participation in the evaluation and management of patients seen on renal consultation with residents and staff nephrologists
  • Participation in the care and management of patients who are on chronic hemodialysis to gain experience in the techniques and associated problems of chronic hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis
  • Participation in the care of patients requiring therapeutic apheresis services in the hospital
  • Major responsibility, with an assigned staff nephrologist, for the Nephrology conferences
  • Participation in the weekly morning hemodialysis working conference to discuss the ongoing medical and social problems of dialysis patients
  • Participation in the biweekly Renal Journal Club
  • Rotation in the Renal Clinics with continuity of care
  • Participation in the weekly afternoon staff renal conference to discuss cases or problems of special interest
  • Rotation through Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for experience in the management of transplant patients
  • Weekly pre-and post-transplant clinics at LAMC
  • Weekly Stone Clinic
  • Active participation in clinical research projects during the tenure of the fellowship
  • Reading and keeping up with the literature is a basic part of training. Each fellow is encouraged to regularly read the standard nephrology journals, such as Kidney International, Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, American Journal of Nephrology, and Clinical Nephrology as well as the major internal medicine journals
  • Additional pertinent articles dealing with specific topics or patients will be brought to the fellow’s attention as part of the training program

Meetings and Conferences

  • Daily attending rounds on the consultation or dialysis service
  • Daily Nephrology teaching conferences or seminars
  • Weekly multidisciplinary patient dialysis conference with the dialysis staff
  • Monthly Regional Nephrology conference for staff and house staff
  • Biweekly Journal Club
  • Monthly Research Conference
  • Weekly Renal Pathology Conference
  • Research Design
  • Special conferences or lectures from the Nephrology nursing and Hemodialysis staff
  • Bimonthly Fellows’ Quality Improvement Conference
  • Physician Wellness Conference
  • Weekly Board Review Sessions

Teaching opportunities

Internal Medicine Residency Program
Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine, third and fourth year students
UCLA School of Medicine, third year students

Research opportunities

Participation in research is an integral aspect of the Nephrology training experience. Fellows have dedicated research time in both years to devote to projects of their own interest. The fellows present their findings at the monthly Nephrology Research Conference. Submission of manuscripts and presentation at national meetings are strongly encouraged.