Program Overview
The Olive View-UCLA Nephrology Fellowship Program is an ACGME accredited program designed for postgraduates in internal medicine who wish to further their medical career in the exciting field of nephrology. We provide a friendly and rigorous academic environment that is conducive for fellows to achieve a high level of competence in all areas of nephrology.
Our outpatient clinical services include a weekly Chronic Kidney Disease Clinic and an Acute Glomerulonephritis and Renal Transplant Clinic that care for 80-100 patients weekly. Fellows also receive great training in outpatient dialysis care at both the North Hollywood Davita and Panorama City Kaiser Permanente Dialysis Units.
The inpatient consult service cares for a multi-ethnic patient population with diverse pathologies that allows for ample training in all areas of nephrology including the following procedural skills: native and allograft kidney biopsies, hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis and continuous renal replacement therapy. Our inpatient consult team typically consists of 3 fellows, 1 Nurse Practitioner, and 1-2 residents and oversees the care of 15-30 patients on a daily basis. On average, the consult service evaluates 4-8 new consults daily.
Our fellows have the opportunity to rotate through the UCLA Kidney Transplant Program to learn about acute renal transplant care and the option to join the Liver Transplant renal service as an elective to gain experience with different solid organ transplant care.
In addition to a wide breadth of clinical experiences, our fellows will be involved in multiple didactic conferences to promote their professional development. Weekly conferences include Journal Club, Chief Rounds, and Renal Pathophysiology. Monthly conferences include Renal Pathology and Morbidity and Mortality. The program also jointly organizes national visiting professorships with all UCLA-affiliated nephrology divisions on a quarterly basis.
Our dedicated faculty members actively participate in research, creative activities, and community outreach programs that promote awareness, early detection, and prevention of kidney diseases. Fellows are given the opportunity to pursue either clinical or basic science research at either Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, Greater Los Angeles Veterans Administrations Medical Center, or the UCLA main campus, the latter two sites with prior arrangements.
Curriculum
Ambulatory Clinics
Chronic Kidney Disease Clinic
This is a weekly clinic for both fellows and internal medicine housestaff. The outpatient clinic experience provides trainees with the opportunity to see a vast array of renal disorders in various stages of progression. The list of disorders evaluated in clinic includes, but is not limited to: hematuria, proteinuria, difficult-to-treat hypertension, monogenic hypertension, glomerular diseases, congenital kidney anomalies, diabetic kidney disease, HIV associated kidney diseases, vasculitis, tubulointerstitial disorders, cystic kidney diseases, multiple electrolyte abnormalities, nephrolithiasis, and chronic kidney disease. Adults of all ages and all ethnic background are seen.
Kidney Transplant and Acute Glomerular Disease Clinic
This is a weekly fellow designated continuity of care clinic which focuses on long-term care for kidney transplant recipients and management of patients with newly diagnosed glomerular or tubulointerstitial diseases. Fellows are given the opportunity to biopsy patients with acute intrinsic diseases, initiate a treatment plan, and follow their own patients over their two-year of fellowship with full faculty guidance.
Inpatient Consultation
Fellows typically rotate through the inpatient consult service 6 months per year depending on the need of the entire program. Each rotation will be staffed by one attending, 3 fellows, one medicine housestaff, and possibly a medical student. Patient census is typically below 20 to 30. Common reasons for consult include acute kidney injury ranging from simple contrast induced kidney injury to hemodynamic compromise from sepsis, cardiac decompensation, liver failure, rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis, drug-induced tubulointerstitial diseases, to various renal, electrolyte, and hypertensive complications associated with pregnancy. Management of all dialysis modalities including hemodialysis, peritoneal dialysis, and continuous renal replacement therapy will be part of inpatient consult care.
Inpatient Kidney Replacement Therapy and Plasmapheresis
Intermittent Kidney Replacement Therapy: The inpatient intermittent (single-pass) kidney replacement service was started in April 2019. Our service is equipped with top-of-the-line hemodialysis machines and advanced crit-line devices to ensure the safest possible kidney replacement therapy for our patients. Peritoneal dialysis is supported by the use of the Amia automated PD system with Sharesource connectivity. “Amia automated peritoneal dialysis (APD) with the Sharesource remote patient monitoring platform is the first and only APD system to include user-friendly features that help guide end-stage renal disease patients through home peritoneal dialysis (PD) therapy, while keeping them remotely connected with their healthcare providers.” The intermittent KRT service is staffed by a group of outstanding and highly competent dialysis nurses.
Continuous Kidney Replacement Therapy (also known as continuous renal replacement therapy [CRRT]): The continuous kidney replacement therapy service uses Prismaflex machines designed to provide ALL modalities of CKRT including slow continuous ultrafiltration (SCUF), continuous venovenous hemofiltration (CVVH), continuous venovenous hemodiafiltration (CVVHD), and continuous venovenous hemodiafiltration (CVVHDF). The CKRT service is staffed by our most competent Intensive Care Unit nursing staff.
Plasmapheresis: Plasmapheresis is provided by contractor service. Renal fellows are trained to write their own plasmapheresis orders for renal indications.
Outpatient Dialysis
Fellows rotate through the North Hollywood Davita Dialysis unit 1.5 to 2.0 months a year where they learn about water treatments and rounding on patients receiving both hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis. Rounds will focus on the mechanics of dialysis, writing optimal dialysis prescriptions, surveilling and managing vascular access complications, familiarizing with both dialytic and non-dialytic approach to the management of blood pressure, providing routine medical care of patients receiving chronic renal replacement therapy, and understanding the responsibilities of the medical director at the dialysis unit.
Fellows also have the opportunity to rotate through Kaiser Permanente at Panorama City to learn about home hemodialysis treatments and nocturnal dialysis.
Kidney Transplant
Fellows will rotate through the inpatient kidney transplant at Ronald Reagan Medical Center at UCLA service for two months during the 2-year fellowship. Fellows will care for patients receiving a fresh kidney with or without pancreas or liver transplant, manage immunosuppressive therapy in both the perioperative and late transplant periods, and both immunosuppressive therapy and non-immunosuppressive therapy related complications. The latter range from infectious, malignant, cardiovascular to various electrolyte complications, among others. Fellows will also have the opportunity to care for post acute kidney transplants, and evaluation of potential kidney transplant donors and recipients during their second year of training.
Research & Electives
There will be one month of research during the first year of fellowship and a total of 3 months for research and/or elective during the second year. Fellows will receive close supervision to perform both quality improvement projects and clinical or basic science research from our faculty, the latter per individual preference.
Fellows may elect to rotate through various other services such as critical care medicine, interventional radiology, renal pathology, or outpatient care for newly transplanted kidney patients. Electives may be designed per individual need with prior approval from the program director.
NOTE: The number of months on each rotation may be changed by the program director based on the program’s need.
Teaching Conferences
Weekly Journal Club: This session is reserved for discussions of important articles related to the field of nephrology or internal medicine and may be held in the format of “Journal Watch” or “Kidney Court.” The latter is an interactive session where two teams are assigned to “defend” or “prosecute” highly publicized clinical studies or trials that may change clinical practice. Fellows also present interesting cases monthly. Radiology conferences may also be scheduled during the weekly journal club.
Chief Rounds: This is a weekly session with the Chief of Nephrology where basic pathophysiology of most nephrology topics is discussed. Fellows are also given the opportunity to discuss any ongoing acute issues during this session.
Medicine Noon Conference: This is a daily teaching conference for internal medicine residents. All fellows are encouraged to attend this conference as per their schedule availability.
Morbidity and Mortality Conference: This is held quarterly by the Department of Internal Medicine. All fellows are encouraged to attend this conference as per their schedule availability. Nephrology-specific morbidity and mortality will be discussed as needed during Chief Rounds.
Benefits Package
The current annual salary for fellows in the program are:
- Post-graduate year 4 (First year nephrology fellow): $97,997
- Post-graduate year 5 (Second year nephrology fellow): $101,434
In compliance with the NRMP, you may view a sample of the type of contract you will be expected to sign if matched into our program. This is a sample UCLA contract for residents and fellows.
Sample Contract
Choosing Olive View
What Makes Olive View Unique?
- Patient diversity, great pathology, electrolyte abnormalities
- Very manageable workload
- Weekly reviews with authors from the Nephrology and Hypertension Board Review book
- Only one of few programs that still gives fellows kidney biopsy experience
- Great autonomy, but with 24/7 staff support
- 24/7 procedural service support/guidance for emergent dialysis catheter placement
- UCLA experience with top kidney as well as liver transplant teams
- Combined teaching and renal grand rounds for all programs in the Los Angeles area
- Generous time for electives/research activities
- Travel grants to various educational programs
- Consistently voted best teaching site by UCLA medical students
- Combined university, county, private practice, and HMO (Kaiser) experience
- Supportive and friendly environment, social activities organized by chief fellows
- Regular visiting professorships from world-renown nephrologists/scientists
What Do Graduates Say?
Hear what our graduates have to say! These are their unsolicited remarks: 
- It’s been my dream to become a nephrologist and getting a degree from the prestigious Olive View-UCLA program is memorable… I would like to thank you and will cherish the experience at Olive View for the rest of my life.
- I do not fear the storms for I have learned to sail the seas. Thank you for teaching me how to sail.
- I just want to thank you again for the great teaching and program you gave us. I hope one day I can contribute back at OV.
- I believe you give excellent training.
- Thank you so much for everything you have done for me and all the fellows/housestaff these past 2 years. I will never forget your great clinical pearls and the sodium equation. I wouldn’t be the doctor I am today without your education, and I aspire to be like you someday.
- Miss those days when I was a fellow with you.
- I passed my Nephrology Board!!! That was your work too, thank you for your brain and your teaching, love you!
- Thank you for all your teaching, your advices, for your support, for always trying to improve the program. If I would have to choose a Nephrology Fellowship Program, I would choose Olive View all over again.
Meet our current fellows and see a list of recent graduates.