Cleveland Clinic

Institution:

Cleveland Clinic

Duration of Fellowship:

1-year fully funded clinical fellowship. Optional 2nd year exists for mixed research and clinical responsibilities.

Number of Available Fellowship Positions:

1

Program Director:
Program Director Email:

Dr. Allan Siperstein
[email protected]

Secondary Contact Name:
Secondary Contact Title:
Secondary Contact Email:

Joni Saab
Residency & Fellow Program Administrator
[email protected]

Address/Phone:

Cleveland Clinic
Endocrinology & Metabolism Institute
9500 Euclid Avenue, F2-118-1
Cleveland, OH 44195

Phone: (216) 445-9096
Fax: (216) 636-0662

Objectives of the Program:

We provide our Fellows with the following opportunities:

Clinical:
- Experience the full spectrum of endocrine surgery disease.
- Gain expertise in the preoperative evaluation, intraoperative decision-making, and postoperative follow-up of routine and complex endocrine surgical conditions.
- Gain exposure to advanced, rare, and unique patient presentations including re-operative disease and familial syndromes.
- Perform ultrasound and laryngoscopy independently.

Academic:
- Submit research projects to reputable and applicable national and international societies.
- Become future teachers of endocrine surgery (see “Distinguished Alumni” section below).

Highlights of the Fellowship:

The Cleveland Clinic has a longstanding history of endocrine surgery and has been a pioneer in fellowship education. Ranked by US News and World Report as the #2 hospital in Endocrinology, physicians and surgeons at the Cleveland Clinic Endocrinology & Metabolism Institute exist within the same space both physically and philosophically. This model fosters a multidisciplinary, evidence-based approach to endocrine pathology.

The practice consists of SIX high-volume endocrine surgeons who perform an average of 1400 operations per year.

Operative Volume:
The practice consists of five high-volume endocrine surgeons who perform an average of 1000-1100 operations per year (including approximately 140 hepatobiliary cases, which are optional for fellows). Average individual Fellow caseload is more than 300 operations. Fellows are welcome to scrub more cases; however, many choose to balance their fellowship experience with outpatient clinic and research days. A tailor-made curriculum is supported including protected time allowed for both General Surgery Boards and their preparation.

Total Average Volume: 293
Thyroid: 151
Parathyroid: 95
Lateral Neck Dissection: 9
Adrenal: 22
Other Cases: 9

Office-based Experience & Procedures:
Fellows will indubitably be proficient in head and neck ultrasonography and perform ultrasound on patients preoperatively, intraoperatively, and postoperatively gaining experience in the longitudinal follow-up of thyroid cancer patients and the localization of pathologic parathyroid glands. The practice performs 600-650 FNAs per year. As a result, fellows will be competent in US-guided FNA for thyroid nodules, suspicious lymph nodes, and for selective localization of parathyroid glands. Furthermore, fellows will become confident in flexible laryngoscopy, which they will perform frequently in the endocrine surgery office.

Education and Collaboration:
Weekly, monthly, and annual structured educational conferences include Chairman’s Conference, Thyroid Tumor Board, Thyroid Club, Thyroid Expo, Calcium Conference, Adrenal Tumor Board, Journal Club, and the Brown M Dobyns Endocrine Surgery lecture at Metrohealth. These collaborative endocrine didactics exist in addition to the robust educational opportunities held by general surgery that include M&M, visiting professors, access to a word-class surgical simulation lab, and Cleveland Surgical Society. The Cleveland Clinic also offers free seminars in transitioning to practice, interview techniques, contract negotiations, fundamentals of research, and communication competency.

Research, Training, & Conferences:
Fellows attend the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and the College’s Head & Neck Ultrasound Course (Cleveland Clinic faculty have served as instructors) to gain certification in US (as an official adjunct to the high-volume clinical US experience of the fellowship). Each fellow will attend Endocrine Surgery University (ESU) and the American Association of Endocrine Surgery (AAES) annual meeting. The ACS, US course, ESU, and AAES meeting registration, travel, accommodations, and meals are all reimbursed. Should fellows be accepted to present projects from their fellowship year at any additional conferences, their attendance will be expected and reimbursed. An optional 2nd year of fellowship exists for mixed research and clinical responsibilities.

Cleveland:
Home to major sports teams, single and family-friendly neighborhoods, well-curated museums, and nationally acclaimed restaurants, concerts, film festivals, and art scenes, Cleveland is one of the best-kept secrets for up-and-coming US cities. Affordable living, vibrant culture, and friendly people make it a highly desirable city to work - and live - in.

We look forward to your application to our unique and comprehensive Endocrine Surgery Fellowship.

International Medical Graduates:

Special Considerations:

Program Website for More Information:

http://my.clevelandclinic.org/services/endocrinology-metabolism/departments-centers/endocrine-surgery

Program Twitter:

Program Facebook:

Previous Fellows:

Organized by academic year, fellow’s name, and subsequent post-fellowship employment.
* Indicates an academic or practice appointment that involves teaching surgical residents or fellows.

2023-2024
Dr. Tim Beck, MD, PhD (Upcoming Fellow)

2022-2023
Megan Parmer, MD (Current Fellow)
Panagiotis Bletsis, MD (Current Fellow)

2021-2022
Talia Burneikis, MD
INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center, Oklahoma City, OK

Salem Noureldine, MD
George Washington University, Washington, DC

2020-2021
Dr. Tiffany Sinclair
Beaumont Hospital, MI
Dr. Nasim Babazadeh 

2018-2019
Dr. Kristina Langenborg
Dr. Anatoliy Rudin

2017-2018
Dr. Cassandre Benay
Dr. Iulianan Bobanga

2016-2017
Dr. Rosebel Monteiro
Dr. Andrew Swearingen

2015-2016
Dr. Jesse Gutnick
Duke University Health System, NC (MIS Fellowship)*
Dr. Rachael Slotcavage*
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, AR*

2014-2015
Dr. Melissa Boltz
Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, PA*
Dr. Vikram Krishnamurthy
Cleveland Clinic, OH*

2013-2014
Dr. Ryaz Chagpar
Clinical Research Fellowship at
The Cleveland Clinic, OH*
Dr. Reza Rahbari
Kaiser Permanante-Frenso, CA*

2012-2013
Dr. Kevin Parrack
Columbia University, NY*
Dr. Danielle Press
Christiana Care Health System, DE*

2011-2012
Dr. Judy Jin
Cleveland Clinic, OH*
Dr. Rosemarie Metzger
Cleveland Clinic, OH*

2010-2011
Dr. Linda Bohacek
Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada*
Dr. Lucy Wallace
Parkland Health And Hospital System, TX*

2009-2010
Dr. Katherine Heiden
Rush University Medical Center, IL*
Dr. Joyce Shin
Cleveland Clinic, OH*

2008-2009
Dr. Adrian Harvey
University of Calgary, Canada*
Dr. Hadley Ritter
Indiana University, IN*

2007-2008
Dr. Jamie Mitchell
The Cleveland Clinic, OH*

2006-2007
Dr. Carolyn Garner
Denton Surgical Group, TX

2005-2006
Dr. Peter Mazzaglia
Brown University, RI*

2004-2005
Dr. Judiann Miskulin
Indiana University, IN*

2003-2004
Dr. Antonia Stephen
MGH-Harvard, MA*

2002-2003
Dr. Kristin Wagner
UNC-Carolinas Medical Center, NC*