GI Conferences
The MaineHealth Maine Medical Center Gastroenterology Fellowship offers a robust didactic curriculum designed to complement clinical training. Conferences are held on Wednesday and Friday during the lunch hour in a hybrid in-person/virtual format, with in-person participation encouraged to maximize discussion and engagement.
Our conference series covers a wide range of educational formats:
Core curriculum lecture series
Interactive, disease-focused sessions delivered by core faculty and fellows. The initial two months focus on “Boot Camp,” designed to prepare first-year fellows for common consults and GI emergencies. Topics include procedural consent, pre-endoscopic evaluation, principles of endoscopy, and gastrointestinal bleeding. Senior fellows reinforce their teaching and leadership skills by presenting selected lectures under faculty guidance.
Case conference series
Fellows, paired with faculty mentors, present a patient case followed by a case-based discussion. These sessions integrate literature review and highlight evidence-based standards of care, encouraging fellows to connect clinical experiences with academic knowledge.
Journal Club
Held monthly with our partners at Portland Gastroenterology Associates, Journal Club fosters critical appraisal skills and life-long learning. Fellows and faculty alternate leading discussions of selected articles, focusing on study design, interpretation of results, and implications for practice. Faculty mentors support fellows in selecting impactful papers and framing discussion points.
Morbidity and Mortality Conference (M&M)
M&M provides a structured, non-punitive forum for analyzing cases with adverse or unexpected outcomes. Fellows work with faculty to present cases, perform root cause analysis, and discuss systems-based improvements. These sessions emphasize multi-disciplinary engagement and evidence-based approaches to enhance patient care.
Gastroenterology Grand Rounds
This series features invited experts who present state-of-the-art research and clinical updates in gastroenterology and hepatology. Faculty provide annual institutional updates, and third-year fellows showcase their scholarly work as a capstone to their training.
Board Review
Fellows are provided access to AGA’s DDSEP curriculum, board review question banks, and other ABIM exam preparation resources. Regular board review sessions allow fellows to present and discuss exam-style questions with faculty and peers, reinforcing knowledge and test-taking strategies.
Institutional Didactics & Wellness
In addition to GI-specific conferences, MaineHealth’s GME offers quarterly half-day didactic sessions for all residents and fellows, as well as a comprehensive wellness program that supports professional and personal development.
Graduate Medical Education Wellness Resources
Sometimes, wellness can be challenging during the rigors of post-graduate training. The MaineHealth Department of Medical Education is committed to the well-being of our employees, residents and fellows.