Program Mission

The mission of the Medical Toxicology fellowship at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (UIHC) is to improve the care of poisoned patients in Iowa and beyond by training the next generation of toxicologists with a high-volume clinical service in a hospital system that offers uniquely broad opportunities which will allow them to explore and define their own niche. Our mission aligns with the tripartite mission of UIHC, which encompasses excellence in clinical care, research, and education. 

The development of clinical expertise will improve the care provided to poisoned patients at UIHC and the surrounding region. The educational component of our fellowship will lay the groundwork for continued lifelong learning, but will also improve the education that the fellows can subsequently provide for colleagues throughout the region. The research that our fellowship produces will help advance the science of medicine and the discipline of Medical Toxicology.

Program Aims

Aim 1: Cultivate the development of clinical skills necessary to provide excellent medical care to our patients. The foundation of our program is our busy bedside consultation service at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (UIHC) which receives over 900 unique consults per year, including the most complex poisonings in the region. UIHC has a wide referral base, encompassing most of Iowa and portions of the surrounding states with many of our patients coming from rural and underserved communities. As our fellows will spend most of their time on this service, our large and diverse patient population will ensure a comprehensive experience managing a wide variety of patients with a wide variety of toxicologic diagnoses. With the extensive clinical cases and other educational opportunities, our program will prepare fellows to provide world-class clinical expertise to our patients, families, and communities.

Aim 2: Provide an environment that will produce high quality educators. The toxicology program provides medical education to a wide range of audiences at all stages of medical education. Our service has rotators from the medical school, the College of Pharmacy, and the Physician Assistant program. The rotation is a required rotation for Emergency Medicine residents, but we also have residents from Pharmacy, Psychiatry, Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, and Pediatrics. We also have fellows from other specialties, including Critical Care and Addiction Medicine. We provide daily didactics for our rotators along with bedside teaching. In addition to the education that we provide to our rotators, we also provide other didactic lectures throughout the hospital and throughout the state. Fellows would be expected to take on more of this teaching role as the progress through the fellowship. This will provide ample opportunities for our fellows to hone their skills at educating the next generation of healthcare providers.

Aim 3: Foster scientific curiosity and a firm foundation in the fundamental skills of research and the critical appraisal of the literature. We want to prepare our fellows for the lifelong learning that comes along with a career in medical toxicology. The extensive research infrastructure at UIHC and in the Department of Emergency Medicine will support a fertile learning environment for a fellow. While completing scholarly projects and collaborating with our epidemiologists, statisticians, and other staff, our fellows will gain a solid foundation that they can use to continue to critically analyze medical literature and contribute to the advancement of care for the poisoned patient.

Medical Toxicology Fellowship Brochure

Didactics

Most of the educational experience for the fellows will be done by the toxicology faculty in conjunction with daily rounds, bedside teaching, and daily didactics that are provided for all of the Toxicology rotators. There will also be weekly fellow-specific educational sessions that will be provided by the Toxicology core faculty as well as the many other experts we have available at the University of Iowa.

Rotations

Sample Schedule

• Each year is comprised of 13, 4-week blocks
• Vacation can be taken all at once or broken up over the academic year

Year 1

• Tox Consults:  7 blocks
• Elective:  2 blocks
• Addiction Medicine:  1 block
• Poison Center:  1 block
• Lab Medicine/Forensics/Pharmacy:  1 block

Year 2

• Tox Consults:  9 blocks
• Elective:  2 blocks
• Poison Center:  1 block

Elective Options:

• Hyperbaric Medicine (2 weeks)
• Nephrology (2 weeks)
• Medical ICU (2 or 4 weeks)
• Surgical/Neuro ICU (2 or 4 weeks)
• Pediatric ICU (2 or 4 weeks)
• Occupational Medicine (2 weeks)
• International Toxicology (4 weeks)
• Radiation Elective (2 or 4 weeks)
• Research (4 weeks)
• Toxicology Consult Service (2 or 4 weeks)

Research

A formal research project that leads to an abstract and manuscript submission is a required component of the Medical Toxicology Fellowship. The fellow will receive research-focused lectures on a monthly basis provided by members of the Emergency Medicine Research Group, mentorship from the Medical Toxicology Fellowship Program Director, the Vice Chair for Research, the Director of Research Operations and guidance from the departmental research committee. Support will be provided as funds allow for the fellow to present their research during the fellowship.

If you are interested in applying for the Medical Toxicology Fellowship please the following materials through ERAS

• Personal Statement
• Curriculum vitae
• Three letters of recommendation (one of which is from your Residency Program Director)

 

 

Josh Radke, MD
Clinical Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine
Medical Toxicology Fellowship Program Director
joshua-radke@uiowa.edu
 

Dan McCabe, MD
Clinical Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine
Medical Toxicology Division Director
Medical Director for Iowa Poison Control Center
daniel-j-mccabe@uiowa.edu

Josh Trebach, MD
Clinical Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine
Medical Toxicology Core Faculty
Associate Medical Director for Iowa Poison Control Center
joshua-trebach@uiowa.edu

Kelby Kiefer
Program Coordinator
kelby-kiefer@uiowa.edu