Pediatric gastroenterology

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine offers a four-week elective rotation for fourth-year medical students with the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology at Geisinger Janet Weis Children’s Hospital. 

The Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology cares for children of all ages. We provide comprehensive pediatric gastrointestinal care that includes the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, gastroesophageal reflux and hepatic disorders. Our physicians perform the complete diagnostic workup of pediatric gastrointestinal disorders, often through endoscopic techniques.

This rotation integrates you into the care of and follow-up of children with diseases of the GI tract, liver or pancreas. You’ll spend most of your clinical time in our busy outpatient clinic and observe and assist in the pediatric endoscopy suite. You’ll also participate in our pediatric weight-management team and inpatient consultations.

Goals and objectives

• Understand the pathogenesis, clinical presentation, differential diagnosis, diagnostic workup and treatment of common pediatric gastroenterology problems such as:
  • GERD
  • Diarrhea
  • Constipation
  • GI bleeding
  • Abdominal pain
  • Inflammatory bowel disease
  • Various liver diseases
  • Pancreatitis
• Recognize indications for endoscopy, colonoscopy, pH probe and radiological studies in children.
• Perform the history and physical examination of children with diseases of the GI tract.
• Interpret GI radiological studies, laboratory tests and tissue pathology.

To enhance the learning experience, you’re expected to begin the rotation with some familiarity of the topics listed. You can accomplish this through self-study and reading before starting the rotation — see “Up to Date” and similar sources for excellent discussions of these subjects.