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Overview of the Program Our combined fellowship program in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago takes place at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Hospital and Clinics (UIH&C), the Jesse Brown Veterans Affairs Medical Center (JB-VAMC), and the Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center (MRH). UIH&C and JB-VAMC are located in the area known as the West Side Medical Center on the near west side of Chicago, and MRH is located about 5 miles from the West Side Medical Center at Lake Shore Drive and 31st Street in Chicago. A three-year training program is offered with a possible 2 additional years for fellows seeking a career as a physician scientist in basic science, clinical based investigation, or academic sleep medicine. Our program satisfies the requirement and is fully accredited for subspeciality training in pulmonary and critical care medicine by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM). We have recently applied for accreditation for a training program in Sleep Medicine to the ABSM. The combined training program in pulmonary and critical care medicine was fully reaccredited in 2005 by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. There are nine clinical positions in the program, three in each year. There are 14 MD and 4 PhD faculty members at the University of Illinois: 8 Professors, 3 Associate Professors, 1 Assistant Professor and 4 Instructors. There are 3 faculty members based at MRH, 2 at the Chicago TB clinics, and 1 visiting research scientist. A complete list of these faculty members and their research interests can be found here. Description of the Facilities UIH&C comprises a tertiary care hospital and outpatient facility that serves as the main teaching institution for the University of Illinois Medical School and training program. The Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) is under the sole direction of the Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine Section. The Section provides daily mandatory consultative services and rounding to the Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) and consultative services to the Cardiothoracic Unit (CTU), Transplantation Unit (TU), and Neurosurgical ICU in addition to inpatient consultation and outpatient services. The Center for Sleep and Ventilatory Disorders, with state-of-the-art monitoring equipment, is administered by the Section. The Pulmonary Function and Physiology Laboratories are fully equipped to perform routine and specialized studies. JB-VAMC serves as an integral part of the training program. The medical intensive care unit is under the direction of the Section. The Section also provides consultative services to the SICU in addition to inpatient consultations and general pulmonary outpatient services. The Pulmonary Function Laboratory and Bronchoscopy Suite are equipped to perform routine and specialized tests. MRH is a community teaching hospital that also serves as an essential component of the training program. In addition to faculty members from the Pulmonary Section, 4 faculty members from the Departments of Anesthesiology and Surgery participate in the training program in a combined surgical, medical and neurosurgical ICU. The Pulmonary Function Laboratory is fully equipped to perform pulmonary function studies. The Section also provides bronchoscopies, inpatient consultations, and outpatient services at this institution. The patient populations at each institution are different allowing exposure to a heterogeneous patient population. UIH&C serves as tertiary care referral center to the citizens of the southwest side of Chicago. A large number of patients with lung cancer and COPD are seen at the JB-VAMC, whereas immunocompromised patients and a relatively younger patient population are encountered at the UIH&C. MRH has a large number of patients with sarcoidosis. The Sleep and Ventilatory and Disorders Center at the UIH&C provides fellows with a large number of referral patients with sleep disorders. All hospitals provide care to some indigent patients and serve patients with both acute and chronic illnesses. Description of the Program The Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine training programs are fully integrated; only a combined fellowship in both of these specialties is offered. In general, over a three-year period the fellows spend one year in pulmonary medicine, one year in critical care medicine, and one year in research and other rotations, although a fourth year is highly encouraged for those seeking an academic career. Critical Care Medicine: Fellows spend one year distributed among the various intensive care units. During these rotations they are involved in all diagnostic and therapeutic procedures performed by the critical care team. Procedures include placing pulmonary artery catheters, peripheral, and central lines, performing bronchoscopies, managing ventilators, airway management, and placing chest tubes on a wide variety of critically ill patients. The fellows supervise and teach the residents and students rotating through the special care units. Pulmonary Consultations: The fellow plays a central role in the diagnosis and consultative management of patients. Fellows perform more than 100 fiberoptic bronchoscopies during their clinical years. Pulmonary Function Laboratories: Fellows are responsible for reading the physiologic evaluations at each of the various institutions. They develop expertise in performing and interpreting routine, as well as specialized, tests including exercise testing and bronchial provocation. Center for Sleep and Ventilatory Disorders : This unit of the Section with six multidisciplinary faculty members is accredited by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. It specializes in both adult and pediatric sleep disorders. Experience in the Center is an integral part of the fellows' training, and it includes weekly case conferences and review sessions to discuss polysomnography, multiple sleep latency tests (MSLT) and relevant sleep procedures. Fellows refer patients to the Center from their outpatient clinics or during their rotations on inpatient consultation services, and they are expected to review the polysomnograms, MSLT and relevant studies with the Sleep Center specialists. Fellows interested in Sleep Medicine have an opportunity for 1-2 years of additional training in a fellowship in Sleep Medicine that meets the new requirements for the ABSM and integrates clinical training with bench and clinical research. The goals of this experience are to participate in clinical and research aspects related to Sleep Medicine to meet the qualification for the Board certification examination in Sleep Medicine. Within the regular Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowship program, several months will be devoted to training in sleep medicine but this is not intended to fully meet the ABSM requirements. Research: Every fellow is expected to engage in a substantive research project. The UIH+C has a wide array of basic and clinical science opportunities. Fellows are expected to join one of the research groups early in their fellowship, develop a research project under the supervision of a faculty member and complete their project before the end of their fellowship. Research time may vary depending on the career plans of the fellow. For those that are seeking an academic career we recommend at least one extra year of formal training on one of two tracks: "clinical trials, epidemiology, and outcomes research" or "translational approaches in cellular and animal models of inflammation". For a trainee
who chooses the "clinical trials, epidemiology, and outcomes
track", we recommend completion of all of the requirements and
course work for a Masters in Public Heath degree from the School of
Public Health at the University of Illinois. It is highly desirable
that these individuals begin work on the MPH degree during the clinical
training portion of their fellowship in order to maximize research
opportunities during the two years of this training program. We feel
that it is difficult to achieve significant research experience on
this track prior to developing the necessary skills, and that the
sophistication and competitive nature of research will be greatly
enhanced by this additional qualification. Each trainee will select
a senior mentor with extensive experience in clinical research and
a proven record of strong mentorship. The responsibility of the mentor
is to assist in designing a feasible and substantive research project
that will lead to a K08 or K23 application and a successful academic
career. Projects that involve a secondary basic science support or
collaboration are highly encouraged. The trainee and mentor will subsequently
select a research advisory committee (RAC) which will consist of three
clinical and two basic scientists that will meet four times in the
first year and twice per year the thereafter. The responsibility of
the RAC committee is to ensure that adequate progress is made to reach
a goal of a KO8 or K23 submission during the second year of funding.
A written report of the RAC committee will be authored by the mentor
and submitted to the executive research committee. Advanced Training Opportunities: Fellows interested in a career in clinical research or public health may elect to do course work and obtain a Masters of Public Health or a Masters of Clinical Sciences degree during a 3-4-year fellowship. Outpatient Services: UIH&C and JB-VAMC each have a weekly continuity pulmonary clinic where the fellows care for a group of patients throughout their fellowship. Fellows are assigned to one half-day clinic per week and also attend either JB-VAMC clinics or UIH&C clinics where their activities are fully supervised by teaching attendings. Fellows are expected to integrate their inpatient and outpatient experiences by discharging their inpatients to their clinics for longitudinal care. TB Clinic: Fellows attend a half-day clinic at one of the Chicago Department of Health, Tuberculosis Clinics located throughout the city of Chicago for additional experience in the diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis. Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at UIH&C offers an outstanding opportunity to become an expert in the treatment of tuberculosis. This experience is an unique aspect of our training program and has described in a recent publication by our fellows and faculty (Ramirez A, Fry MB, Rubinstein I. Newly diagnosed tuberculosis in inner city Chicago: The pulmonary fellow perspective. Respiration 2003:70:611-611). Electives:
Currently electives include a rotation in the Department of Anesthesiology
at the UIH&C where fellows gain experience in perioperative patient
care including nasal and oral intubation and the use of neuroblockers.
Other electives include Thoracic Surgery, Pathology, Trauma (at Christ
Hospital or Stroger County Hospital) and Pediatric Pulmonary.
The UIH&C
is located on the west side of the campus of the University of Illinois
at Chicago. The University of Illinois at Chicago has undergone tremendous
growth over the last decade and now numbers more than 25,000 graduate
and undergraduate students and over 3,000 faculty. The Chicago Illini
Union is located near the UIC Medical Center. In addition to restaurants
and meeting rooms, it houses complete athletic facilities, including
a gymnasium, a running track, racquetball courts and an Olympic-sized
pool for the Medical Center students and staff. Located on the near
west side, just three miles from downtown Chicago, the UIC Medical
Center is easily accessible by car or public transportation. Suburban
commuting is convenient since the UIC Medical Center is close to the
Kennedy, Dan Ryan, Eisenhower and Stevenson Expressways
Dean Schraufnagel,
M.D.
Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine 840 South Wood Street (Room 920-N CSB) | Chicago, IL 60612-7323 fax (312)996-4665 | phone (312) 996-8039 | pulmonary@uic.edu |
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