Clinical training consists of 16 weeks of PHM-related service per year. The fellow will work with the resident teaching teams. Two of the 16 weeks will be at a community hospital site. Family centered rounds is emphasized during the clinical service times. Additional 16 weeks per year is dedicated to an individualized curriculum including clinical electives such as pain and palliative care, child abuse pediatrics, complex/chronic care, medical transport, medical toxicology, nutrition, pharmacology and antimicrobial stewardship and anesthesia to name a few. Other subspecialty rotations including critical care medicine and infectious diseases among others are also offered as electives.

The fellowship has an educational mission to provide first class education and training. The fellow has an important role in teaching medical students and resident physicians and other interprofessional students. The fellow will spend time in the Introduction to Teaching during the first year and has the option to take classes as part of the Teaching in Medical Education (TiME) program offered through Virginia Commonwealth University School of Education and School of Medicine. The TiME program emphasizes curriculum design, scholarship in medical education, and instructional strategies. During the course of the fellowship, the fellow will develop an educational portfolio.

The fellow will participate in the Introduction to Quality Improvement (QI) curriculum during the first year and have the opportunity to complete the Institutes for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) modules. Other opportunities through the institution and various conferences will provide additional research and QI training. The fellow will work with research and QI faculty mentors throughout the fellowship with the goal of scholarly project and QI initiative during the fellowship which will satisfy the ACGME and ABP requirements for a scholarly product. Fellows have presented (platform and poster) at national conferences such as PHM, PAS, AAP NCE, HVPAA, and APA Region 4 conference.

The fellowship program has a unique partnership with VCU Grace E. Harris Leadership Institute in which the fellow has the opportunity to enroll in the Leadership Development course (hyperlink: https://gehli.vcu.edu/programs/vcu-leadership-development-program/). This course is a 10-month program designed to enhance the knowledge, skills, and experience of current and emerging leaders who represent the academic and administrative units of VCU and VCU Health.