Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Fellowship

Overview

Our program prepares physicians to practice the pulmonary and critical care medicine in complex environments with competency, professionalism and the highest ethical standards. Graduating fellows are expected to achieve dual board certification in pulmonary and critical care medicine.We have a 100% board pass rate.

Training is designed to teach fellows how to increase knowledge and comprehension across a broad array of pulmonary medicine topics, apply accumulated knowledge to the bedside care of patients, evaluate subsequent clinical outcomes in a manner that provides for effective pulmonary consultation services, and demonstrate competency in technical and procedural skills for procedures routinely provided by pulmonary and critical care consultants.

Fellows have access to advanced technology and services, including:

• Bronchoscopy suite, including appropriate space and staffing for pulmonary procedures
• Computed tomography (CT) imaging, including CT angiography
• Coronary care unit
• Radiology services (bedside imaging services available to all patients in the critical care units)
• Pulmonary function testing laboratory
• Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET)
• Respiratory care services
• Dedicated fellows' pulmonary outpatient clinic
• Exposure to the Advanced Lung Disease and Lung Transplant clinic
• Clinical work on the Lung Transplant inpatient service
• Inpatient work in the cardiothoracic intensive care unit, including ECMO care
• Dedicated COPD/asthma clinic

We also utilize the Seeger Surgical Simulation Center, which is equipped with SimMan 3G technology as well as bronchoscopy and EBUS simulators.

Rotations

Fellows receive new admissions/consults, triage patients, evaluate patients, present to the attending physician and provide documentation of consult, typically between 7:00 AM and 6:00 PM daily during inpatient rotations (ICU and pulmonary consults). They also are responsible for seeing established patients prior to the daily bedside rounds. Fellows work with specially trained nurses and technicians skilled in critical care instrumentation, respiratory function and laboratory medicine. There is no overnight call.

A typical breakdown of rotations per PGY year is as follows:

PGY-4

• Medical ICU (4 weeks)
• Pulmonary consult service (12)
• Advanced lung disease outpatient clinic (four weeks)
• Lung Transplant inpatient rotation (four weeks)
• Respiratory therapy and pulmonary function Lab (four weeks)
• Chest radiology/pulmonary pathology (four weeks)
• Sleep medicine (four weeks)

PGY-5

• Medical critical care ICU (12 weeks)
• Neuro ICU (four weeks)
• Surgical ICU (four weeks)
• Cardiothoracic ICU (four weeks)
• Bronchoscopy (4 weeks) 
• Pulmonary consults (eight weeks)
• Advanced lung disease outpatient clinic (four weeks)
• Sleep medicine (four weeks)
• Elective (eight weeks)

PGY-6

• Research or elective time (28 weeks)
• Pulmonary consults (eight weeks)
• Advanced lung disease outpatient clinic (four weeks)
• Medical critical care ICU (four weeks)
• Neuro ICU (four weeks)
• Lung Transplant inpatient rotation (four weeks)

Conferences

Fellows develop teaching skills necessary to educate patients, families, medical students and residents by attending conferences and faculty development seminars, completing online lessons and observing experienced attending physicians in a teaching environment.

Conferences include:

• Critical Conference
• Pulmonary Radiology Case Conference
• Interstitial Lung Disease Conference
• Internal Medicine Grand Rounds
• Pulmonary Core Curriculum Conference, including M&M and Journal Clubs

• Critical Care Conference
• Airway management Conference
• Pulmonary thromboembolism Conference
• Chest Tumor Board Conference

We provide fully funded Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) training and Emergency Neurological Life Support (ENLS) training.

Research

Our fellows are required to participate in at least one research project during their time as fellows, with the goal of presenting and publishing their findings.

BUMC is a major center for clinical research. Clinical research opportunities are available in both the outpatient and inpatient settings, as well as the Seeger Surgical Simulation Center. Clinical research requires the successful completion of educational prerequisites from Baylor University Medical Center's institutional review board (IRB), as well as approval process of the IRB. Fellows are mentored by experienced clinicians during their time in fellowship, and present every year at conferences such as CHEST, Society of Critical Care Medicine, and American Thoracic Society (ATS), as well as at transplant-related conferences such as the American Transplant Congress (ATC) and the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT).