Pulmonology

Fellowship

The Pediatric Pulmonology fellowship at the Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of New York—Presbyterian and Columbia University is an ACGME approved training program. This three-year fellowship is available to candidates who have completed a pediatric residency at an accredited program. In general, 14 months are spent acquiring clinical skills and the remaining 19 months are spent pursuing academic research. Fellows see outpatients in weekly clinics throughout the training period. On the inpatient months fellows provide care to children admitted to the pulmonary service as well as provide consultation to other services for children with respiratory complications. It is also during the inpatient months that fellows learn to perform flexible bronchoscopy. During the first year, fellows choose a research mentor and research track. This research activity continues through the 2nd and 3rd years of fellowship, usually resulting in a presentation at a national or international medical meeting. At the end of three years the fellows are eligible to sit for board certification in Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine.

Program Description
The first year of training introduces the fellow to both the clinical and research aspects of Pediatric Pulmonology. Just over half of the year is spent managing the inpatient service. This entails supervising the care of patients admitted to the hospital with primary pulmonary illnesses and providing pulmonary consultations to patients admitted to the Children’s Hospital. While on the inpatient service, the fellow performs bronchoscopies under the direct supervision of the faculty. Other available rotations include critical care, pediatric radiology, lung transplant medicine, adult pulmonary medicine, and anesthesiology. The remaining clinical rotations are completed throughout the second and third years of training.

During the first year, the fellow spends time in the pulmonary function laboratory becoming familiar with pulmonary function testing (PFTs) and their interpretation. The fellow will also become acquainted with our pediatric exercise physiology laboratory.

Fellows participate in a variety of weekly conferences within the Pulmonology Division. A weekly conference is attended by all members of the interdisciplinary Cystic Fibrosis team. There is also a weekly physiology seminar in which the fellows alternate teaching various topics of pulmonary physiology to their colleagues and faculty members. Additionally, there is a weekly clinical case conference in which fellows and faculty members present interesting inpatient and outpatient cases for discussion. There is a weekly Sleep conference where fellow learn to read and interpret sleep studies. Post-graduate coursework in research design and statistics are available as well.

In addition to participating in a number of on-going clinical trials within the division, fellows make use of microbiology, cellular biology, and immunology laboratories within the medical center to pursue their academic interests.

Goals
The major focus of the training program is to provide fellows with a strong balance of clinical training and research experience. The strong outpatient and inpatient services provide the fellow with more than adequate experience in most areas of pediatric pulmonary medicine. The medical center provides myriad scientists, clinical and basic, able and willing to serve as research mentors. The research activity is expected to result in a presentation at a major national meeting, and in the submission of a manuscript to a peer reviewed journal. The fellow should also gain a broad clinical experience during the training years. Effective with the position for July 2010, there is a match for Pediatric pulmonology. It is anticipated that as of the July 2011 position, there will be an ERAS application.