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Division of General Internal Medicine

Clinical Training

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The Advanced Specialty Training Program (ASTP) in Obesity Medicine Fellowship provides comprehensive, multidisciplinary clinical training across the full spectrum of obesity medicine.

Fellows deliver patient care at the Johns Hopkins Healthful Eating, Activity and Weight Program (HEAWP) under the guidance of faculty preceptors certified by the American Board of Obesity Medicine. This primary clinical experience offers in-depth training in the evaluation and management of adult obesity, including individual and group medical visits, obesity pharmacotherapy, and the treatment of obesity-related conditions.

To broaden their clinical expertise, fellows also train in a variety of specialized settings, including:

  • The Johns Hopkins Bariatric Surgery Center, with experience in both outpatient clinics and the operating room
  • Pediatric obesity medicine at the Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital Healthy Living Academy
  • Behavioral health and psychological evaluation through the Obesity Behavioral Medicine Program
  • Minimally invasive obesity treatment procedures

These diverse clinical experiences prepare fellows to provide evidence- based, patient-centered obesity care across a wide range of practice settings.

Training Schedule

The figure below outlines the fellowship's training timeline across clinical experiences, didactics, scholarly activities, and evaluations over the course of the training year.

  Figure 1 Legend. Timeline of Obesity Medicine Fellowship Activities. This figure presents the structured, year-long timeline of core activities within the Obesity Medicine Fellowship program, organized across four domains: Clinical Experiences, Didactics, Scholarly Activities, and Evaluations. Clinical Experiences include ongoing continuity clinic and group session facilitation, as well as rotations in nutrition, psychology, pediatric obesity medicine, endobariatrics, metabolic-bariatric surgery, and other subspecialties. Didactic components consist of e-lectures and directed readings completed during protected time. Scholarly Activities encompass research project development, engagement in medical education (e.g., teaching a medical student course), and peer learning through journal clubs and obesity medicine rounds. Evaluations include fellow self-assessments and faculty assessments at baseline, 3, 6, 9, and 12* months using OMEC competencies, along with Mini-CEX exercises to assess clinical skills. Activities are sequenced to support progressive development of clinical and academic competencies over the fellowship year. Abbreviations: OMFC – Obesity Medicine Fellowship Council; OMEC – Obesity Medicine Education Collaborative; Mini-CEX–Mini-clinical evaluation exercise *Conducted if needed.

The program supports the development and advancement of skills in obesity medicine by dividing the fellowship experience into three key blocks:

Block 1 – Building the Foundation
For the first 20 weeks, the overall aim is for the fellow to establish a foundation of knowledge of the key elements of obesity medicine. The fellow begins by shadowing faculty in continuity clinic and group visit sessions, then transitions to precepting patients independently and leading a weekly group session — responsibilities that continue for the remainder of the training year. During these weeks, the fellow has protected time to complete assigned e-lectures and directed readings as part of an online didactic curriculum of core obesity medicine content and participates in programming to build skills in motivational interviewing and patient engagement. The fellow shadows registered dieticians at the Johns Hopkins Outpatient Nutrition Clinic to gain a better understanding of nutrition as well as appreciate the role of the dietician in weight management.

In addition, the fellow rotates through psychology, shadowing and observing psychological evaluations — specifically pre-bariatric surgery assessments as well as management of obesity-related eating disorders (e.g., binge eating disorder) at the Johns Hopkins Obesity Behavioral Medicine Program — and spends sessions in metabolic and bariatric surgery, both in the outpatient clinic and observing procedures in the operating room, to understand the preoperative evaluation as well as post-operative care from the surgical perspective. The fellow also identifies a research mentor and scholarly project and attends a session on scientific writing and begins participating in peer learning activities — organizing the monthly Johns Hopkins Obesity Medicine Rounds (OMR) and attending the weekly Johns Hopkins Welch Center diabetes and obesity journal club and monthly Obesity Medicine Fellowship Council (OMFC) fellow's journal club, both of which continue throughout the year.

Finally, the fellow begins clinical work at the Johns Hopkins Healthful Eating, Activity and Weight Program (HEAWP), which continues throughout their training year. 

Block 2 – Exercise, Pediatric Obesity Medicine, and Bariatric Endoscopy
The overall aim for the subsequent 20 weeks is for the fellow to gain experience with exercise physiology, pediatric obesity medicine, and minimally invasive bariatric procedures. During these weeks, the fellow attends educational sessions with exercise physiology to understand testing such as indirect calorimetry and exercise prescriptions. The fellow also spends sessions with a pediatric obesity medicine program, the Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital Healthy Living Academy, an intensive multi-disciplinary program through which the fellow learns obesity medicine strategies in a pediatric population. In addition, the fellow rotates through bariatric endoscopy, shadowing and observing minimally invasive procedures performed in interventional radiology and/or gastroenterology, as well as post-procedural management in the outpatient setting. The fellow continues in the continuity clinic and leading weekly group sessions.

Block 3 – Subspecialty Rotations
For the final 10 weeks, the overall aim is for the fellow to round out training with subspecialty rotations relevant to obesity medicine, consolidating and applying skills developed throughout the year. The fellow has option to select elective from wide range of subspecialities including Preventive Cardiology and Lipid Clinic, Menopause Clinic, Hepatology, Sleep Medicine Clinic, Reproductive Endocrine and Infertility Clinic, Endocrinology Clinic, and Sleep Therapy Clinic, gaining exposure to the range of conditions and specialties that intersect with obesity medicine. The fellow continues their clinical work at the Johns Hopkins HEAWP, allowing final skill development in preparation for independent adult obesity medicine practice. 

Meet the Fellowship Program Faculty

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