Temple University’s Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine fellowship is one of the strongest academic programs in the nation and therefore is one of most sought after training programs in the country. Over the years several changes within the Department of Thoracic Medicine and Surgery have made improvements to an already thriving fellowship program. The training has evolved in scope and continues to improve, thus enhancing the already optimal training experience.

In August 2019, the fellowship was expanded to 10 fellows per year. This was achieved when we were able to accommodate fellows from the Drexel University Pulmonary Critical Care Fellowship at Hahnemann Hospital in Philadelphia. The addition of those fellows enabled us to expand our training sites to Temple University Hospital – Jeanes Campus, a secondary site for Temple University Hospital. TUH – Jeanes Campus has provided increased and valuable experience in Hematology/Oncology as well as Critical Care. It also provides community hospital-based Pulmonary and Critical Care training thus allowing a richer diversity in experience in contrast to a large tertiary care academic center. Fellows gain insight into the nuances of community based practices that may at times differ from the practice in major centers.

Over the last 3 years the fellowship has incorporated training of an invaluable assessment tool at bedside. Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) is essential to the training of a Pulmonary/Critical Care physician. First year fellows participate in a yearly city wide ultrasound course (i.e: PACUSP), where both didactic and hands-on training is performed.  To further reinforce the clinical use of POCUS an ECMO/Ultrasound clinical rotation was added to the curriculum. Fellows practice POCUS on patients under the supervision of ultrasound trained faculty. In addition, during this rotation, fellows are trained in management of ECMO and its complications.

In addition, with the rapid growth of the lung transplant program over the last several years, fellows have gained invaluable experience in this highly specialized field. Through its expansion, fellows remain an integral part of the lung transplant team. They continue to lead various multidisciplinary meetings built to improve outcomes in lung transplant.

Read more in the Winter 2021 edition of the Pulmonary & Thoracic Medicine Newsletter for Temple Lung Center alumni: