The OHSU Division of Nephrology and Hypertension is committed to the training of its fellows. We offer a complete training experience to prepare you for your desired future career. A few strengths of the program include:

Diverse training opportunities including: 

• A Glomerular Disease Program with opportunities for research and exposure to all types of glomerular disease. Fellows see patients with Drs. Avasare and Rueda and may also attend our multidisciplinary amyloidosis clinic. Fellows especially interested in additional glomerulonephritis training may enter the glomerulonephritis pathway (see pathways section below).
• A Comprehensive Hypertension Program giving fellows exposure to secondary and resistant hypertension. Fellows especially interested in additional hypertension training may enter the hypertension pathway (see pathways section below).
• Clinical and research tracks designed to support each fellow's interests (see orientation powerpoint below).
• Comprehensive didactics that prepare you to be a successful nephrologist (as well as pass the boards) but do not "teach to the test."
• A nationally-renowned transplant medicine program performing over 150 kidney and dual organ transplants and home to an AST certified Transplant Fellowship.
• A multidisciplinary clinic with urology for patients with complex nephrolithiasis. 
• An Advanced Dialysis curriculum for second-year fellows covering topics such as medical directorships, dialysis policy, and end-of-life care in ESRD. This provides critical training for life as a "real-world" nephrologist. 
• Support for attendance at national conferences. 
• The William Bennett Endowment Fund, which provides funding for 2nd-year fellows to explore extra educational and academic opportunities. 

An emphasis on trainee wellness to support your career as a physician including:

• Engaged faculty dedicated to providing trainees with an excellent education while preventing burnout. 
• A strong commitment to protecting trainee work hours and ensuring fellows do not work in an unsafe manner. 
• An Advanced Communications and Wellness curriculum focusing on provider wellness and patient interactions, including use of the Vital Talk curriculum to improve communication skills in serious illness.
• The use of individualized learning plans for each trainee to support comprehensive training and development as a physician.
• A strong Center for Diversity and Inclusion as well as a trainee Family Network providing support for trainees and their families.
• The opportunity to join and engage with the OHSU House Officers Union should a trainee desire. 

Extensive outpatient continuity experiences including:

• OHSU Hypertension clinic for 1st-year fellows (every other week)
• OHSU and VA CKD clinics for 1st and 2nd-year fellows (every other week)
• A cohort of VA hemodialysis patients you manage as a 2nd-year fellow
• Peritoneal dialysis continuity clinic as a 2nd-year fellow
• Opportunities for additional education in home modalities

Opportunities for interested fellows to learn more about education and teaching including: 

• Ongoing experience teaching and supervising learners (residents, medical students, and PA students) on service. 
• Leading nephrology small-group sessions for medical students. 
• Preparing and presenting lectures with faculty to residents.
• Joining the Educators' Collaborative, a community of practice presenting monthly Medical Education grand rounds, providing seed grants for projects, and connecting educators across the campus. 
• Access to the Train your Brain series and other useful resources for clinician educators (e.g. online learning, gamification, small-group teaching, fostering diversity and inclusion in education) from the OHSU Teaching and Learning Center. 
• The Education Scholars Program, a competitive certification program designed for individuals interested in education scholarship as a career.

Close ties throughout OHSU and the Portland medical community leading to:

• Core faculty helping to move OHSU and the Portland VA forward, including:
  • Susan Gurley, who serves as the Division Head of Nephrology and Interim Chair of the Department of Medicine.
  • Sharon Anderson, former president of the ASN, serves as Special Advisor to the OHSU School of Medicine and is former Dean.
  • David Ellison, ASN council member and previous Division head, who is the director of the Oregon Clinical and Translational Research Institute at OHSU. Read more about research in the Ellison lab here.
  • Pavan Chopra, who serves as Director of Quality and Safety for the OHSU Department of Medicine Ambulatory Practice.
  • David Cohen, who serves as Associate Chief of Staff for Research and Development at VA Portland Health Care System.

Of course, there is also our great location in Portland, Oregon. An enchanting city with an abundance of outdoor and cultural activities to explore!

The Clinical Training is a 2-year program, designed for fellows with an interest in a clinical practice career. For this training, approximately 15-18 months are clinical training and 6-9 months are dedicated to research and scholarship. The clinical experience occurs primarily at OHSU and the Portland VA Medical Center. Fellows gain experience in the evaluation and management of kidney diseases and hypertension, as well as the provision of acute and chronic hemodialysis, continuous renal replacement therapies, peritoneal dialysis, renal transplantation, temporary dialysis catheter placement, and renal biopsies with pathology interpretation. Outpatient clinic experiences in the first and second years include one half-day of clinic per week, alternating between OHSU and the VA. Fellows also directly care for their own panel of VA hemodialysis patients throughout their second year and complete six months of peritoneal dialysis continuity clinic.

The Academic Physician Scientist Training is designed for fellows with an interest in an academic career, with the development of skills in education and research (either basic science or clinical). This is a 3-year program, with approximately 12-14 clinical months (similar to the Clinical Pathway) and the remainder dedicated to research and scholarship. Outpatient clinic experiences mirror those of the Clinical Pathway. During research months in the second year, fellows will have limited clinical responsibility, usually consisting of a weekly outpatient clinic and caring for their continuity dialysis patients. The third year is completely dedicated to research training though additional clinical training is available as desired by the fellow.

OHSU and the Portland VA Medical Center are our main clinical teaching sites. OHSU is the sole academic medical center in Oregon and Southwest Washington, and serves as a tertiary referral center for the state of Oregon as well as portions of Washington, Idaho, and Northern California. This gives fellows a diverse training experience and extensive exposure to renal complications related to autoimmune and oncologic disorders, trauma, and infectious disease in addition to the effects of diabetes and hypertension. The OHSU History page outlines our interesting and evolving story as Oregon's academic medical center,

The Portland VA Medical Center provides top-rated care to Veterans in the area and also performs the majority of kidney transplants for the VA on the West Coast, ensuring strong exposure for our fellows. OHSU and the Portland VA Medical Center are connected via a sky bridge, allowing fellows to provide care at both hospitals without missing conferences or other core components of their education.

OHSU and the Portland VA draw from large catchment areas and serve a diverse array of patient communities based on socioeconomic metrics. This ensures that trainees experience the breadth of renal disease and its various causes to prepare them for independent practice. 

Our division offers additional clinical pathways to support a trainees' interest and growth as they begin their nephrology careers. The aim is to give fellows additional experience in these areas without extending their length of training. These pathways are open to either clinical or research fellows.

This experience may take the shape of inpatient electives, outpatient clinic experiences, didactics, and teaching experiences. The pathways may also include a research or quality improvement project in that area.

These areas include:

• Palliative care
• Critical care
• Glomerulonephritis
• Hypertension
• Transplant medicine

Please contact us if you would like more information on any of these pathways or other aspects of our program.

Example schedules

Educational conferences for fellows

• Clinical case conference - a weekly conference where fellows on consult services present recent cases for discussion on a rotating basis.
• Journal clubs - a weekly conference where reviews of current and past papers are presented by fellows and faculty. Fellows present once a year.
• Research conference - a weekly conference given by fellows and faculty about their research projects. Clinical track fellows present at the end of their second year.
• Pathology conference - a monthly fellow-centered conference designed to prepare trainees to utilize renal pathology in their practice.
• Biopsy conference - a monthly conference to review recent biopsies as well as the patient's clinical presentation and management.

OHSU is committed to recruitment practices that are equitable, demonstrate our commitment to responsible stewardship of resources, and reduce negative impacts on the global environment. Thus, OHSU GME will direct all our ACGME residency and fellowship programs to utilize virtual interview practices for the upcoming recruitment season. We believe this approach will attract a diverse pool of applicants, decrease applicant financial barriers, and minimize applicant’s time away from educational and clinical activities while reducing the carbon footprint of recruitment. This policy is also in accordance with guidance from the ASN, AAMC, and AAIM. 

Applications are only accepted through ERAS. We participate in the national nephrology match and do not accept applications outside the match.

Nephrology fellowship applicants must have completed three years of postgraduate training in an ACGME accredited internal medicine program prior to beginning fellowship. Applications are judged on the basis of the applicant's academic and clinical training record, recommendations of medical school and postgraduate training supervisors, and interviews with faculty. Applicants must be legally able to work in the U.S., or eligible to obtain work authorization.

Application requirements

The following is required to be submitted via ERAS:

1. Completed ERAS application
2. Personal statement
3. Letters of recommendation from:
   1. Two physician or medical scientists having special knowledge of the applicant's ability or performance. Additional letters in this category are welcome.
   2. The Director of the applicant's internship and residency program.
   3. The Dean of the applicant's medical school (Dean's Letter). Note, applications are not complete and will not be reviewed without the Dean's letter. If you are a foreign graduate and have difficulty obtaining a Dean's letter, please email the information to us.
4. ECFMG certificate is required, if applicable
5. USMLE or COMLEX board scores and medical school transcript must be provided

Candidates invited to interview will be contacted directly by our office. If you have a specific interest in transplantation or a certain clinical pathway, please let us know so we can customize your interview day accordingly.  Please email us with any questions about our program.