Every Wednesday morning, all rheumatology faculty and fellows meet for Grand Rounds. Invited external or OHSU speakers share their research and expertise on a topic related to rheumatology; faculty and fellows present in-depth clinicopathologic conferences during which other specialty experts are invited to contribute to the discussion. Afterwards, a faculty member or fellow present a clinical and/or basic science paper in a journal club format. A clinical case conference during which patients on the inpatient services are discussed follows. Radiology conference where musculoskeletal images are reviewed with musculoskeletal radiologists ensues.

Every Thursday and Friday afternoon, fellows meet with the program director and selected faculty members for a didactic session covering various core rheumatology topics and other specialty topics relevant to the practice of rheumatology, rheumatology board preparation, the critical appraisal of the rheumatology literature, as well as discussions regarding quality improvement projects.

In July and August, a condensed immunology course is held covering salient immunology and basic science concepts critical to rheumatology. Fellows find that hearing these sessions twice at different stages of their fellowship training enhances their learning and retention of these complex topics.

Throughout the year, fellows are expected to read a major rheumatology textbook as well as seminal papers and reviews relevant to cases encountered in clinic or on the consult service.

Summary

All Year:  July - June

• Wednesday, 9:30-10AM- Clinical Case Conference
• Wednesday, 10:15-11:00AM - Radiology Conference
• Thursday/Friday, 2:00-3:00PM each month - Core Didactics and miscellaneous 

Summer:  July - August

• Wednesday, 8:00-9:00AM - Summer Immunology Course

Fall, Winter, Spring:  September - June

• Wednesday, 8:00-9:00AM - Grand Rounds
• Wednesday, 9:00-9:30AM - Basic/Clinical Science Journal Club

Annual meetings

All fellows have the opportunity to attend the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Annual Scientific Meeting. First year fellows may also attend the ACR's State-of-the-Art Clinical Symposium.

Fellows are also encouraged to attend the Northwest Rheumatism Society's annual conference that is held on rotational basis in Portland, Seattle, or Vancouver BC. If engaged in spondyloarthritis research, fellows may also be invited to attend the Spondyloarthritis Research and Treatment Network's (SPARTAN) annual meeting. 

Opportunities to speak

The ability to present to the medical community and to the public is an essential skill as a subspecialty consultant. By providing ample opportunity to our fellows to speak publicly, we hope to advance this skill as much as possible during the two-year program. Opportunities to speak include presenting to:

• OHSU Colleagues and faculty: CPC, journal club, research in progress, rheumatology-dermatology conference
• Physicians in the community: NW Rheumatism Society, Arthritis Foundation post ACR Conference, Warm Springs Clinic
• Peers: Internal Medicine residents 
• Other Learners: Physician assistant students and medical students
• Lay-people: Medical coders, patient groups