| Detail | For this role |
|---|---|
| Department | Clinical and Medical |
| Level | Mid level |
| Reports to | Head of Department (Clinical) |
| Direct reports | Endoscopy Technician |
| Experience | 2 to 8 years after DM, with independent therapeutic endoscopy |
Gastroenterologist job description template
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Job title: Gastroenterologist
Department: Clinical and Medical
Reports to: Head of Department (Clinical)
Location: [City], [office, branch or site]
About the role
A Gastroenterologist diagnoses and treats diseases of the food pipe, stomach, intestines, liver, pancreas and gall bladder. The job mixes OPD consultations for acidity, liver disease and bowel problems with endoscopy suite work: diagnostic and therapeutic endoscopy, colonoscopy, variceal banding and ERCP. They are also called at night for GI bleeding. A good gastroenterologist performs safe and complete endoscopies, controls bleeding quickly and follows chronic liver and bowel patients carefully.
Key responsibilities
- See OPD patients with acidity, swallowing difficulty, abdominal pain, jaundice, chronic diarrhoea and GI bleeding, and plan tests and endoscopy.
- Perform diagnostic and therapeutic upper GI endoscopy and colonoscopy, including biopsies, polypectomy and dilatation.
- Control upper GI bleeding with banding, clipping or injection, attending emergency calls at night when needed.
- Perform ERCP for bile duct stones and strictures where the hospital has the facility and the doctor holds privileges.
- Manage chronic liver disease, including hepatitis B and C, fatty liver and cirrhosis, with regular surveillance for complications.
- Treat inflammatory bowel disease and other chronic bowel conditions, and plan long-term medicines and monitoring.
- Confirm sedation plan, consent and fasting status before every endoscopy, and record findings with images.
- Make sure the endoscopy technician follows the scope reprocessing protocol and keeps cleaning logs complete.
- Give inpatient opinions for pancreatitis, liver failure and GI complications in other departments.
- Coordinate with surgeons, radiologists and oncologists on tumours found at endoscopy, including staging and biopsy follow-up.
Requirements
- DM or DrNB in Gastroenterology after MD in General Medicine
- Valid registration with the National Medical Commission or a State Medical Council
- Advanced endoscopy training such as EUS or ERCP is an advantage
- 2 to 8 years after DM, with independent therapeutic endoscopy
KRAs and KPIs for a Gastroenterologist
Key result areas for the appraisal form, each with a KPI you can measure every month or quarter.
| Key result area | How to measure it |
|---|---|
| Colonoscopy quality | Caecal intubation rate at or above 90 percent of colonoscopies each quarter |
| Bleeding response | Endoscopy within 24 hours of admission for 95 percent of upper GI bleeds, and within 12 hours for unstable patients |
| Procedure safety | Perforation or major bleeding below 0.5 percent of therapeutic procedures |
| Scope reprocessing | Cleaning and disinfection log complete for 100 percent of endoscopes used |
| Biopsy follow-up | Every biopsy report reviewed and communicated to the patient within 7 days |
| Liver surveillance | At least 80 percent of cirrhosis patients complete 6-monthly liver cancer screening |
Skills and tools
Tools used day to day: Video endoscopy system, Colonoscope, Duodenoscope for ERCP, Endoscopic ultrasound, Argon plasma coagulation unit, Fibroscan, Automated scope reprocessor.
Reporting line and career path
Next roles: Head of Department (Clinical), Clinical Director
Interview questions for a Gastroenterologist
- A patient arrives vomiting blood with a systolic pressure of 80. What do you do in the first hour?
- How do you make sure your colonoscopies are complete and do not miss polyps?
- A cirrhosis patient asks whether he can keep working night shifts. How do you advise him?
- Tell me about an endoscopy complication and how you handled it with the family.
- What checks do you insist on before sedating an elderly patient for endoscopy?
- How do you choose between ERCP and surgery for bile duct stones?
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Book a free demoSee pricingFrequently asked questions
What does a gastroenterologist do?
A gastroenterologist diagnoses and treats diseases of the digestive system: the food pipe, stomach, intestines, liver, pancreas and gall bladder. They perform endoscopy and colonoscopy to find and treat problems, control GI bleeding, and manage long-term conditions such as liver disease and inflammatory bowel disease.
What is the difference between a gastroenterologist and a GI surgeon?
A gastroenterologist treats digestive diseases with medicines and endoscopic procedures, without open surgery. A GI surgeon operates on the digestive organs, for example removing the gall bladder, part of the intestine or a stomach tumour. The two work together on tumours and difficult bleeding.
Is a gastroenterologist the same as a hepatologist?
Not exactly. A gastroenterologist covers the whole digestive system, including the liver. A hepatologist concentrates on liver disease such as hepatitis, cirrhosis and transplantation. In most Indian hospitals gastroenterologists manage liver patients as well, and large centres add dedicated hepatologists.