Rheumatology

The Pediatric Rheumatology fellowship program at Tufts Children's Hospital at Tufts Medical Center in Boston is one of the few Accredited Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) accredited training programs in this specialty in the New England region. The Division is one of 20 pediatric medical divisions at Tufts Children's Hospital. We are part of Tufts Medical Center, a large tertiary referral hospital for the region, which is affiliated with Tufts University School of Medicine.

The program is devoted to preparing people for careers in academic pediatric rheumatology. Established in 1995, the program has trained more than 20 fellows, many of whom now serve as division chiefs or department chairs throughout the United States and Canada. We currently accept one new fellow every 3 years.

In addition to pediatric rheumatology fellowship training, we collaborate with our adult rheumatology fellowship closely in a transition program (young adults transitioning from pediatric rheumatology care to adult rheumatology care), and with interest in co-training fellows with a combined medicine-pediatrics background. For those who are interested in a combined training program, although we don’t have an established combined program in place yet, we are flexible to incorporate curriculum changes to best serve our trainees to ensure continuity training in both adult and pediatric rheumatology, for those who are interested in doing both adult rheumatology and pediatric rheumatology fellowship at Tufts Medical Center.

Our training program is centered on the care of children with rheumatologic conditions, or diagnostic problems. We have patients with childhood rheumatic diseases who come to us from all over New England and indeed from all over the world.

This program includes one year of intensive clinical training in pediatric rheumatology followed by two years of research training which can be either laboratory based bench research, translational research or clinical research depending on the preferences and planned career path of the fellow. Due to our affiliation with Tufts University School of Medicine we can also offer master’s level classes during the research years to advance the research and statistical expertise of our fellows.

The first year of training is intensively clinically orientated. Fellows may see patients at Tufts Children's in Boston 4 days a week and up to two days per month at the satellite offices in Chelmsford during the first year. Pediatric orthopedists, physiatrists and radiologists share clinic space nearby and are readily available for consultations, often same day. We also work very closely with nephrology, dermatology and ophthalmology. Inpatient care and consultation services are other important aspects of the training program that are emphasized during that first year. The last two years of training have protected time from clinical duties for research and Master’s level classes. Patient clinics are reduced to one day a week for continuity and fellows are encouraged to maintain primary patients as they become more confident and independent, with guidance and supervision from the attending physicians.

Fellows are expected to attend regular didactics and meetings throughout the fellowship, including weekly clinical and x-ray conference, Journal Club and other didactic activities usually with protected time on Wednesdays. Attendance at regular pediatric conferences such as Pediatric Residency Morning Report, Grand Rounds is also encouraged. 

Fellows also attend regional, national, and international conferences in Pediatric and General Rheumatology. We provide protected time and fund support for our fellow to attend the annual conference sponsored by American College of Rheumatology and the annual meeting sponsored by Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance (CARRA). National meetings are a pivotal part of the program and fellows are encouraged to both attend and present abstracts at Pediatric Rheumatology Symposium (PRYSM), ACR Annual Meeting, and CARRA Annual meetings.

Fellows are expected to teach during their training. We have 3^rd year and 4^th year medical students, pediatric residents and adult rheumatology fellows rotating through our pediatric rheumatology, and expect our fellows to gradually develop skills to conduct formal and informal teaching sessions for the other trainees.

The second and third years of fellowship focus on the research aspects of rheumatology while keeping a continuity clinical training. The research experience is supervised either the Pediatric or Adult Rheumatology faculties or outside of department to suit the fellow’s interest in research.

In addition, our fellows have the opportunity of applying for scholarship to the Clinical Research Graduate Program, a Master’s program which is a well-established in the Clinical Care Division of the Tufts Medical Center. Learn more about the Masters in Clinical Care Research program.

Saumya Vinod Joshi, MBBS 
Pediatric Rheumatology Fellow 
NPI: 1558767806

Specialties + Interests:
Clinical Specialties: General Pediatrics, Pediatric Rheumatology, Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain 
Research Focus: Amplified Musculoskeletal Pain Syndrome, Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis 

Training + Certifications: 
Medical School: Armed Forces Medical College, India
Residency: SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY
Fellowship: Second Year Pediatric Rheumatology Fellow 
Masters: Masters in Science in Clinical Research at Tufts CTSI (Second Year MS Student)
Board Certifications: American Academy of Pediatrics 

Biography: 
Saumya was born and raised in India and moved to the United States for a research scholarship after completing medical school. He completed his pediatric residency at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn before moving to Tufts Children's Hospital at Boston for a pediatric rheumatology fellowship. He lives with his partner and their teacup chihuahua in the South End neighborhood of Boston. He loves to spend time outdoors, practice hot yoga and cook Indian food. Currently he is learning a form of tap dance. 

Contact Information:
Phone: 617-636-7285
Fax: 617-636-8388

Why Tufts Children's?

Rima’s Reasons is:

"My experience with Tufts was great!  With my infectious disease background I chose Tufts rheumatology program as it was a perfect fit for my future goals of combined practice. I joined the clinical track that provided a rich clinical experience with exposure to a variety of cases at Tufts and its satellite clinics. The staff members were amazing teachers; knowledgeable, cooperative and kind. They prepared me well for the boards, the clinical practice and have continued to maintain a good back-up resource for me after graduation as well. Add to this, the location of Tufts; Boston is an amazing unforgettable place!"

Saumya’s reason is: 

"I am very pleased with my training at the pediatric rheumatology program at Tufts Medical Center. It is a very fellow-centric program with friendly attendings and staff. You will be the only fellow which increase your exposure to outpatient clinics, inpatient consults and procedures. Both the attendings Dr. Zhang and Dr. Davis are extremely invested in the fellow’s education. There are ample opportunities for research both within and outside the division. I strongly recommend utilizing the CTSI program for a certificate course or even a full Masters. I could not have asked for a better program for my training."

Nicole Hernandez
Fellowship Program Coordinator
nhernandez1@tuftsmedicalcenter.org