Pulmonary Medicine Fellowship Program 
The goals of the Pulmonary Medicine Fellowship Program at The Western Pennsylvania Hospital are:
- to provide advanced training to allow the fellow to acquire expertise as a specialist in Pulmonary Medicine and to obtain a fundamental working knowledge of the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of pulmonary diseases;
- to provide fellows experience in observation and management of inpatients and outpatients with a wide variety of pulmonary diseases;
- and to provide fellows opportunities to assume continuing responsibility for both acute and chronically ill patients, so that fellows learn the natural history of pulmonary diseases, as well as the effectiveness of therapeutic programs.
The fellowship curricular goals are to teach the principles of pulmonary medicine and the evaluation and treatment of patients in the ambulatory setting, an important component of the fellowship. The private physician office experience provides pulmonary fellows the opportunity to initially evaluate patients, develop a treatment plan, carry out the plan, and follow the patient through the course of treatment. In all ambulatory care settings, an attending physician is present and is responsible for consultation, teaching and review of the findings with the trainee and the proposed plan of treatment.
Conferences
Pulmonary/Radiology/Pathology conferences are held on a monthly basis to correlate clinical and radiologic presentation with histopathology. Two to three cases are presented, with pathology material and a pathologist in attendance.
Case Management conferences are held on a bi-weekly basis to review current cases and to develop diagnostic, therapeutic, and management skills. Only pulmonary attending physicians and fellows participate in these conferences.
Journal Club/Research conferences are held on a monthly basis to review current pulmonary literature and discuss the progress of research and to develop critical analysis skills. At least one article per fellow is to be discussed, preferably related and as recent as possible. Articles for discussion are selected with the faculty and copies of the articles are distributed to all participants at least a week in advance.
Pulmonary Function Test seminars (five one-hour sessions) are scheduled for fellows to learn the physiologic basis of pulmonary function tests and how these tests are conducted and the results interpreted.
Basic Physiology and Molecular Biology sessions (12 one-hour sessions) are held to augment the individual fellow's readings.
Noon Conference lectures are held with Internal Medicine Residency Program trainees on a monthly basis. The topics selected (with the faculty) are on various pulmonary diseases.
Combined Subspecialty Fellowship conferences are held bi-weekly. Topics covered include OSHA and healthcare regulations; psychosocial, economic, and ethical issues; community education and patient counseling skills; research; continuous quality improvement; and critical assessment and decision skills. Pulmonary Grand Rounds are held at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine on a weekly basis and include a review of topics in pulmonary/critical care medicine.
Pulmonary Core Curriculum conferences are held on a bi-weekly basis and cover a detailed review of selected topics.
Through this series of lectures and conferences, the fellow gains understanding of the essentials of pulmonary medicine. A wide range of topics are covered, including but not limited to: pulmonary complications of HIV infection, pulmonary fungal infections, mycobacterial diseases, pneumonias, pulmonary complications of organ transplantation, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, pneumoconiosis and other occupational lung disorders, pulmonary neoplasms, mediastinal disorders, drug-induced lung diseases, mechanical ventilation, hypoxemia and hypercapnic respiratory failure, pleural disorders, pulmonary hypertension and pulmonary thromboembolism, interstitial lung diseases, and asthma/chronic obstructive pulmonary disorders. In addition, many of these topics are touched on during bedside rounds and the formal conferences that follow. Pertinent supporting literature is referenced and reviewed.
Research and Scholarly Activities
Pulmonary fellows are required to participate in study design and data collection for at least one research project during their fellowship. The research is primarily clinical and trainees are allotted two months per year for the project. They are expected to present their findings at local and national meetings and submit them for publication.
Pulmonary fellows regularly review the background literature pertaining to topics that are discussed on teaching rounds and at journal clubs and other conferences. Additionally, they must thoroughly research and present a topic annually at a Medical Residents Monthly Conference. Fellows are also encouraged to write case reports in collaboration with the teaching faculty. A series of lectures is presented to all residents and fellows on the design and interpretation of research studies, methodology and data interpretation, and the requirements of informed consent. Fellows may consult with a statistician regarding their research, as well as with their supervising attending faculty member.
Application Information
The Pulmonary fellowship program only accepts applications through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS). Once the application is completed our staff reviews the application and applies the specific criteria that we use for granting interviews. Personal interviews are by invitation only and are required for acceptance to our program. Deadline for applying to our fellowship program is December 31, 2008. Applications are now being accepted for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Interviews:
If you have any other questions regarding our program, the application process, or the status of your application, please contact Rose Santonastaso (412) 578-6902 or E-mail her at: rsantona@wpahs.org
Recommended Places to Stay:
The Western Pennsylvania Hospital has an agreement with the Shadyside Inn which is less than 1 mile from the Hospital. Please be sure to mention The Western Pennsylvania Hospital (use code # 6054SF-1) when booking your room. The other recommended Hotel is the Marriott Courtyard with a special interviewing rate. Both hotels provide shuttle service to and from The Western Pennsylvania Hospital.
Thank you for your interest in our Pulmonary Fellowship Program
Paul C. Fiehler, M.D.
Chief, Division of Pulmonary Medicine
Program Director, Pulmonary Fellowship Director
The Western Pennsylvania Hospital
Department of Medicine
4800 Friendship Avenue, 2800 NT
Pittsburgh PA 15224
(412) 578-6902
