Leadership in Adolescent Health (LEAH) Fellowship

LEAH is a fellowship funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), and is dedicated to serving the health needs of adolescents. The program is truly multi-disciplinary and accepts fellows from the following disciplines:

• Medicine

• Nutrition

• Psychology

• Nurse Practitioner

• Social Work

• Public Health

Fellows from all disciplines are expected to work together to provide care for patients. Nutrition fellows report to Roberta Anding, and must be seeking a graduate degree. This fellowship has specific requirements that must be met during the course of the fellowship that runs from September through April. The Fellowship is administered through the Baylor College of Medicine.

The following are some of the obligations of LEAH nutrition fellows:

• See patients at all rotation sites. Current sites and types of patients include:

Other sites may be added as they become available and based on the Fellow’s interest. These other sites may include: TCH in-patient eating disorders, Houston Ballet Academy, TSU sports clinic.

• Attend LEAH education classes every Friday through the entire course of the fellowship (September through April). Classes typically are held from 10:45 AM to 4:00 PM. Classes include topics ranging from how to teach to adolescent sexual maturity.

• Develop three patient care plans.

• Write one article for the Texans newsletter on an assigned topic.

• Teach a micronutrient for Roberta’s Rice introductory nutrition class (HEAL 103).

• Participate in the LEAH Fellow group project. Past projects have included an assessment of the Covenant House intake process and assessment of the need for an obesity clinic at Texas Children’s Hospital.

• Teach one one-hour lecture to LEAH fellows, faculty and residents on a topic of Fellow’s choice.

• Participate in a home visit of a patient.

• Create a Process Portfolio which provides documentation of all activities undertaken in the LEAH fellowship.

• Develop education materials as requested.

• Participate in research projects as requested.

• Teach other education sessions as requested and appropriate. For example, teach infant and toddler nutrition to mothers at Lee High School.

• Attend the "Transitions" conference in early November that discusses issues surrounding the transition of adolescents from pediatric to adult health care.

• Participate in public health/public policy projects as requested and available.

• Participate in administration activities. For example, each Fellow must keep a log of patients seen and documentation required by the MCHB completed.

• Create a research project that may be used for Master’s Thesis. This includes all tasks including lit search, IRB review, etc.

To be successful as a LEAH Fellow, the following traits are required:

• Professionalism

• Enthusiasm

• Punctuality

• Ability to multi-task

• Excellent written and verbal skills

• Self-sufficiency including managing tasks, schedule, projects, etc.

• Ability to work with others on the patient care team

• Understanding of football

• Ability to resolve questions either through research or by asking the right person/people

• Ability to work with a variety of patients in a variety of settings

• Reliable transportation
  

An example of a Fellow’s weekly schedule would be:

Click here for additional information on the LEAH Fellowship