Nephrology

Interim Division Head: Sandeep Soman, M.D., FAMIA, FNKF
Fellowship Program Director: James E Novak, M.D., Ph.D., FACP, FASN, FNKF
Program Coordinator: Latasha Jeter, MHA

The Division of Nephrology has 8-10 fellows in its ACGME-accredited two-year fellowship program. One to two of the first-year positions are reserved for candidates entering the integrated three-year Nephrology and Critical Care track, which is the only program of its kind in the country.

ACGME-accredited fellowship tracks:

• 2 years clinical nephrology
• 3 years integrated nephrology and critical care (2 years nephrology + 1 year critical care medicine)

Our fellows receive their education and training at Henry Ford Hospital, a nationally renowned specialty care, teaching, and research institution that is the flagship of Henry Ford Health. Henry Ford Health is one of the largest and most respected integrated health care delivery systems in the country, with more than 2.2 million patient visits annually.

The primary purpose of the fellowship is to train outstanding nephrologists for careers in academia, industry, or private practice. During the past five years, approximately 65% of graduating fellows entered private practice; 22% pursued additional training in critical care, transplant, or interventional nephrology; and 13% began academic careers in the Henry Ford Health or at institutions including the University of Massachusetts Berkshire, the University of Tennessee, and the University of Texas Southwestern. Clinical training consists of two years of closely supervised experience in all clinical aspects of inpatient and outpatient nephrology. Fellows also learn interventional nephrology techniques, including tunneled catheter placement and arteriovenous fistula and graft declotting and balloon angioplasty. Other electives, including plasmapheresis, supplement the exposure of fellows to extracorporeal purification techniques.

The Division of Nephrology performs approximately 20,000 outpatient consultations and follow-up visits annually. Non-ICU nephrology patients are often admitted to the nephrology inpatient unit, reserved for patients with renal, electrolyte, and hypertensive disorders and kidney transplant recipients. Nephrology faculty serve as the attending physicians on the 34-bed inpatient unit where patients receive care by medical house staff.

Henry Ford Hospital performs approximately 120 kidney transplants and 10 kidney-pancreas transplants annually. Henry Ford Transplant is one of only two comprehensive organ transplant centers in Michigan and performs liver (>120 per year), heart, lung, intestine, multivisceral, and bone marrow transplants as well. Approximately 10,000 dialysis treatments, 500 vascular access placements, and 100 native and 200 transplant kidney biopsies are performed annually.