The Gastroenterologist is assigned to Hospital and Specialty Medicine, VA Portland Healthcare System, Portland, OR. The Physician provides direct and consultative care to patients with diseases of the gastroenterology system in both the outpatient and inpatient clinical settings. The Gastroenterologist is expert in history taking, physical examination, test interpretation, patient counseling, differential diagnosis and medical therapeutics of these conditions. In addition, the gastroenterologist is expert in the performance and interpretation of esophagogastro-duodenoscopy (EGD), placement of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tubes, enteroscopy and colonoscopy, including obtaining appropriate tissue samples. Various methods of dilation of strictures may also be performed. The gast