Curriculum Overview
Scott Wiley, RN, CSPI consults with Fellow Dr. Jennifer Boyle, M.D. about a call from the poison center hotline.
The fellowship’s first year is devoted to developing clinical skills in medical toxicology. The fellow is responsible for the clinical consultation service and medical back-up for the Blue Ridge Poison Center. Occupational/environmental exposures are evaluated in an outpatient clinic. Also, the fellow is the direct supervisor of residents rotating from other house staff services.
The fellow concentrates on reading and attending didactics in order to gain knowledge of the basic principles of acute care toxicology, occupational/environmental, pharmacology, mechanisms of toxicity and practical aspects of basic sciences.
Second year activities are flexible, so that the fellow can focus on special interests or research activities. The second year still provides experiences to improve clinical skills but an increased emphasis is placed on educational techniques (writing and speaking) and research methodology. Therefore, the clinical responsibilities are negotiable and may be decreased depending on the type of projects the fellow chooses. Directed readings and didactics are more focused on research methodology, critical appraisal of the literature, in-depth understanding of mechanisms, faculty development skills, and administrative skills for medical direction of poison centers and toxicology treatment centers.
Contact
Nathan Charlton, MD
Director, Medical Toxicology Fellowship Program
Phone: (434) 924-0347
Fax: (434) 971-8657
E-mail: npc8a@virginia.edu