Curriculum

Fellows in the Pulmonary Fellowship Training Program gain hands-on clinical experience through inpatient and outpatient rotations. Clinical training is slightly concentrated in the 1st year, but it remains evenly balanced with research in the subsequent 2nd and 3rd years so that fellows continue to receive ample time for clinical care as well as scholarly activity and teaching throughout the fellowship program.

Over the course of three years, fellows spend a total of 9 months on inpatient rotations. As a consultant service, our fellows primary provide inpatient pulmonary consults but also conduct daily rounds with the hospitalist/resident teams taking care of our chronic pulmonary patients. Fellows collaborate with clinicians from other specialties to provide comprehensive care to patients and work closely with their supervising pulmonary attending.

Fellows spend an additional 9 ½ months on outpatient rotations, which incorporate interpretation of sleep, exercise and/or pulmonary function studies. They remain involved in weekly independent outpatient continuity clinics, which start out has half-day sessions in their 1st year and gradually build up to full day sessions by their 3rd year. This allows for continuity of care and building of long-term relationships with chronic patients and their families.

Our program is committed to improving access to high-quality, specialized care for underserved and vulnerable populations. In this regard, our fellows have the opportunity to work with diverse patient populations across their rotations and to become an advocate for improvement in their overall access to care.

Both during inpatient and outpatient time, there are numerous opportunities to perform bronchoscopies and our faculty collectively performs ~400-500 bronchoscopies a year, of which fellows can join and perform procedures under direct supervision. Additionally, during outpatient time there are blocks set aside for exposure, education and involvement with the interpretation of the varying pulmonary testing that exist within the field.

Lastly, fellows can pursue individual interests through elective educational opportunities. There is a 4-week elective block, which can be utilized for experience with sleep medicine, allergy medicine, additional outpatient, or inpatient interaction, or to allocate more time towards clinical research endeavors.

Our fellows take care of patients from basic to complex cases and incorporates a broad range of diseases including, but not limited to:

• Asthma Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (BPD)
• Cystic Fibrosis (CF)
• Pulmonary Coccidioidomycosis
• Aspiration & AeroDigestive Disease
• Chronic Respiratory Failure – Tracheostomy & Home Ventilator Dependence
• Pulmonary Hypertension
• Single Ventricle Disease/Fontan Physiology
• Sleep Disorders