Curriculum

The Pulmonary / Critical Care Medicine has a 12-month rotation schedule, which includes Medical Critical Care, Surgical Critical Care, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Outpatient, Inpatient, research, sleep study and elective. 

Each fellow serves six months on the consult service diagnosing and managing hospitalized patients with a wide variety of pulmonary diseases. Fellows will also rotate in the bronchoscopy suite and learn pulmonary procedures. Fellows will also learn non-invasive ventilation for respiratory failure.

Each fellow spends nine months in the medical intensive care unit which is staffed by pulmonary and critical care faculty. Each fellow also spends three months in the surgical intensive care unit working with a dedicated surgical critical care team. The surgical intensive care unit cares for patients with a wide variety of surgical related diseases including cardiac surgery, neurosurgery and trauma.

Fellows will follow a dedicated curriculum for critical care ultrasound and echocardiography. There will be didactic lectures hand on training is image acquisition and interpretation. Advanced echocardiography pathway will be available for fellows interested in obtaining NBE certification for critical care echocardiography.

Each fellow has a continuity clinic at the Pulmonary Ambulatory Clinic one-half day per week. Ambulatory care electives are also available.

Each fellow spends a dedicated time in the Pulmonary Function Lab, which involves one on one didactics and hands on learning. Fellows will gain experience in spirometry, lung volume measurement, high altitude simulation test, bronchoprovocation challenge testing, exercise spirometry, cardiopulmonary exercise testing

Each fellow spends a dedicated time at the sleep disorders clinic and Clinical Neurophysiology Laboratory, which involves one on one didactics and hands on learning. Fellows will learn how to interpret sleep studies and manage complex sleep disorders.

Our program is designed to enhance fellow’s understanding of research techniques. Total of 6 months of research time is provided. We have a dedicated faculty member as research mentor. Fellows will be assigned a research project in their first year of fellowship and they are expected to complete the project by the end of their fellowship. Poster presentation in national level pulmonary critical care conferences is also highly encouraged. There are regular journal club meetings and literature review conferences. The faculty prides itself on outstanding academic achievements and mentoring.

Elective rotations are designed to help fellows follow their specific interests. Electives will be within the Guthrie hospitals. However, outside electives in academic centers will also be considered on individual basis.

Fellows will be trained in basic and advanced pulmonary procedures. 
Basic Pulmonary procedures:
Bronchoscopy, Bronchoalveolar lavage, Transbronchial biopsies, and Thoracentesis. 

Advanced Pulmonary procedures: 
Linear endobronchial ultrasound, Radial endobronchial ultrasound, Balloon dilatation, Argon Plasma coagulation, Cryotherapy and cryobiopsy, and Indwelling pleural catheter placement. 

Fellow will have exposure to Endobronchial Valve Placement for Lung Reduction and Monarch Robot.