The fellow on service carries a long range beeper and responds to calls and consults during weekdays. Inpatient consultations usually range from 3-6 per week. Weekend coverage is equally divided among all fellows in the program, and individual fellows are usually responsible for one weekend call each month. I n addition to inpatient consultation, fellows attend selected outpatient clinics throughout their training. Outpatient clinics are held weekly and include a fellows' general rheumatology clinic at Yale-New Haven Hospital, two general rheumatology clinics at the West Haven Veterans Administration Hospital, and private rheumatology clinics of the faculty.
Fellows observe arthroscopy and surgical procedures during their rotation in Orthopedics.
Other elective outpatient clinics include clinical immunology and osteoporosis clinics. E ducational conferences sponsored by our program include weekly Rheumatology Grand Rounds, a clinical conference, several research conferences and a monthly journal club. Fellows play an active role in organizing and scheduling these conferences. The Yale University School of Medicine also has numerous conferences on issues relevant to academic rheumatologist sponsored by other clinical and basic science departments. A ll fellows are exposed to the methods and interpretation of laboratory tests commonly used by rheumatologists, including antinuclear antibody, antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody, and anti-phospholipid antibody testing, rheumatoid factor, Lyme disease serologies and synovial fluid analysis.