Gastroenterology Education Improved Through Inpatient Care Teaching Model

Gastroenterologists who focus primarily on providing inpatient care, called GI Hospitalists, are becoming more common across the U.S. Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital developed a survey to assess the effect of GI Hospitalists on fellowship education and found that GI Hospitalists improve education through superior endoscopy teaching and longitudinal feedback.

The work is published in the journal Gastroenterology.

The aim of the study was to directly assess GI fellows' perceptions of the educational impact of GI Hospitalist faculty on GI fellowship training. As the GI Hospitalist model has gained traction across both academic and community settings, its purported benefits—including enhanced clinical efficiency, reduced physician burnout, and improved inpatient care quality—have drawn attention.

Despite the advantages, concerns have arisen regarding the GI Hospitalist model's impact on gastroenterology fellowship education. While many program directors believe that GI Hospitalists contribute positively to fellows' training, there are valid concerns about reduced exposure to a diverse range of faculty and mentorship opportunities.

This duality of perceived benefits and potential drawbacks drove the need for a thorough investigation into GI fellows' perspectives.

The researchers surveyed GI fellows at five different academic institutions about their educational experiences within the GI Hospitalist model, and found multiple educational benefits of GI Hospitalists including improved endoscopy education and longitudinal feedback.

These findings echo similar findings in the literature on the benefits of Internal Medicine Hospitalists in the education of residents.

Gastroenterology Fellowship education is improved in meaningful ways related to endoscopy education and feedback on clinical and endoscopic skills with the addition of a GI Hospitalist. These improvements to fellowship education will create more robust fellowship programs as GI Hospitalists become more common across the U.S.

The ideal educational model for GI fellowship programs is an ongoing pursuit and likely combines the benefits of GI Hospitalist faculty with non-GI Hospitalist faculty.