Hepatology Training Pathways
By achieving American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) and/or American Board of Pediatric (ABP) certification in transplant hepatology, you demonstrate your commitment to the profession and show the public, your patients, your institution, and your colleagues that you have attained expertise in advanced and transplant hepatology beyond the general hepatology competence expected of a gastroenterologist. Certification in transplant hepatology is the preferred pathway for the expert hepatologist, whether your career goals involve practice in an academic liver transplant program or a community general hepatology practice.
Transplant Hepatology Fellowship Programs
There are 59 ACGME-accredited fellowships in transplant hepatology currently available. Most TH programs have participated in the GI/TH pilot and are likely to offer the new dual certification pathway.
There are two pathways available to achieve certification in transplant hepatology.
Transplant Hepatology Training After Gastroenterology Fellowship ("Fourth Year")
- One year of advanced training for those who have completed a three-year fellowship in gastroenterology (total of four years for completion of gastroenterology and transplant hepatology fellowship training).
- Benefits of an additional year of fellowship training after completion of a gastroenterology fellowship include:
- Advanced training in general and transplant hepatology
- More time available for training and development of competence in gastroenterology
- More time to pursue scholarly activities including research during the three-year gastroenterology fellowship
- Opportunity to pursue advanced training at a different institution
- Ability to be funded on the T32 training grant
- Ideal for trainees interested in an academic hepatology career and/or a career with a significant research focus
When and How to Apply
- Visit the AASLD Transplant Hepatology Fellowship Application System to search for available transplant hepatology fellowship positions. You can reach out to learn more about programs and/or submit applications to participating programs through the site.
- Programs can be viewed, and applications submitted in late January – March. Interviews should take place between April and June with offers in July. Visit the site for the current schedule and search for participating programs.
Transplant Hepatology Certification
- Upon completing transplant hepatology training and passing the gastroenterology board certification, fellows will be eligible to take the Transplant Hepatology Board Certification Exam jointly offered by the American Board of Internal Medicine and American Board of Pediatrics
- The dual certification GI/TH pathway is currently only eligible for certification through the American Board of Internal Medicine and is not currently available through the American Board of Pediatrics