Section of Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep Medicine

Fellowship

The combined Pulmonary Diseases-Critical Care Medicine Fellowship Program is designed as a three-year training experience completion of which makes the Fellow eligible for both the Pulmonary & Critical Care certification examinations.  While the basic structure of the program conforms to requirements set by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, it can be tailored to the individual Fellow’s interests such as sleep, clinical or basic science research, etc.  The faculty consists of both full-time and part-time physicians.  Visiting consultants from other centers give formal lectures and informal rounds and conferences each year.  Fellows regularly attend regional and national medical meetings, and funds are available to support special training visits to other medical centers when the need arises.

Fellows spend five months at

Sample Schedule

Outpatient experiences include weekly Pulmonary clinics and Public Health Clinics, a monthly adult Cystic Fibrosis clinic, and in Pulmonary rehabilitation services at an affiliated facility, all supervised by Faculty members.  Weekly conferences include Medicine Departmental Grand Rounds, Multidisciplinary journal club, a Clinical Case Conference held jointly with the Departments of Surgery, Radiology and Pathology and a Multidisciplinary Critical Care conference.  Fellows gain experience in Sleep medicine through sleep clinics and conferences held in both institutions.

The following support services at both hospitals are under the direction of the Pulmonary Diseases Section: Respiratory Therapy, Pulmonary Functions Laboratory, Blood Gas Laboratory, Exercise Laboratory, Bronchoscopy Service, and the Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU). The LSUHSC Pulmonary Function Laboratory uses up to date computerized equipment recently updated.  Both LSUHSC and the OBVAMC endoscopy laboratories use modern video bronchoscopy equipment.  Both institutions have accredited state-of-the-art Sleep Laboratories, performing over 300 sleep studies per year.

Fellows receive training in all aspects of diagnostic fiberoptic bronchoscopy with transbronchial biopsy, bronchoalveolar lavage, cytological and microbiological brushings, transbronchial and transthoracic needle aspiration (under fluoroscopic and CT guidance).  They also gain experience in therapeutic bronchoscopic modalities such as bronchial stenting, intrabronchial brachytherapy, intrabronchial cryotherapy and whole-lung lavage.  The range of procedures include pleural biopsy, chest tube insertion, cardiopulmonary exercise testing, and bronchoprovocation.  Critical care experience occurs in two ICUs and allow training in invasive bedside monitoring procedures including metabolic and nutritional assessment, percutaneous tracheostomies, continuous renal replacement therapy, and novel modes of ventilatory support.  Fellows regularly interpret pulmonary function tests (including exercise tests) and full polysomnographic tests under the guidance of Faculty members.

Fellows are expected to complete at least one research project during the Fellowship period and to present their results at a national meeting.  Funds are available for travel to meetings to present papers.  Fellows are encouraged to submit at least one manuscript for publication in a peer-reviewed journal during their training period.  

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Last modified: July 15, 2005