Quality Exposure to a Diversity of Disorders

Owing to the scarcity of tertiary care centers in Louisiana, the Division sees tertiary care referrals from a large area of the state: east to Mississippi border, south to Lake Charles and the Gulf of Mexico, and southeast of Alexandria. The VA also sees referrals from an equally large portion of Louisiana, east Texas and southern Arkansas. This provides our trainees with a wealth of patients to care for and from whom to learn. 

Each patient seen in clinic by a fellow is seen with a faculty member. Many routine and rare endocrine disorders are diagnosed and managed by our fellows. Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport Medical Center handles a large volume of critically ill and complex patients, including such challenging cases as pregnancy complicated by endocrine conditions (hyperparathyroidism, pheochromocytoma, thyroid storm, diabetic ketoacidosis). In-patient consults are treated similarly.

The VA Hospital has complex cases as well, but also provides a significant amount of diabetes care to the nearby veteran population through its dedicated diabetes clinic. 

Over the course of the two-year program, most fellows will have seen all common endocrine conditions and the majority of rare conditions in a patient with whom they have shared evaluation and treatment personally with a faculty physician.

TRAINING 

Endocrinology and Metabolism functions in an atmosphere of inquiry and scholarly activity. Faculty teaching includes, but is not limited to, a month-long series of lectures to internal medicine residents, a second year medical student endocrinology course, and lectures to third year medical clerks and first year PA students. Faculty also give multiple Internal Medicine Grand Rounds lectures throughout the year. Lectures on bone pathophysiology, DXA, and thyroid ultrasound are also provided by VA faculty to develop fellows’ proficiency as skilled endocrinologists.