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Fellowship Programs in Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine |
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The Pediatric Pulmonary Section of the Department of Pediatrics is an integral part of the Arizona Respiratory Center (ARC), a large multidisciplinary organization with a long (more than 30 year) tradition of excellence in clinical care and research related to pulmonary diseases in both children and adults. We provide extensive training in clinical pulmonology, clinical and basic research techniques, and teaching methodologies. Our goal is to train academic pediatric pulmonologists who will deliver state-of-the-art care to children with respiratory disorders, become independent investigators, and contribute to our understanding of the pathophysiology and treatment of pediatric respiratory disease. Trainees’ Time Commitment: The distribution of time commitments in any given year of training can be adjusted to meet an individual trainee’s needs. Clinical Training: The first year trainee is exposed to a wide variety of acute and chronic pediatric pulmonary problems and learns applied pulmonary physiology and pulmonary function testing techniques. First-year trainees participate on the pulmonary service for 4 months. Attending physician rounds are made daily on the in-patient pulmonary service (1200 inpatient days/yr. and 150- 170 consults/yr.). The first year trainee attends three half-day outpatient clinics per week in which approximately 2000 patients are seen per year. Second year trainees participate on the pulmonary service for 4 months, attend one half-day clinic per week and are responsible for two bronchoscopies per week. In addition, trainees spend one month on the Pediatric Critical Care service and a month on a combined Pediatric Allergy/Pediatric Sleep Disorders rotation during the first year. Third year trainees act as junior attendings for one month each on the inpatient and clinic services and attend 26 half-day clinics per year. Research Training: First year begins with a one-month course covering basic statistics, experimental design, and respiratory physiology and pathophysiology. Formal course work in ethics and biostatistics is provided. The first year trainee also starts preliminary studies in their chosen area of research and continues this in the second and third years. The third year is devoted largely to the completion of a research project under the direction of an appropriate faculty mentor. Preparation for Academics: Trainees learn to teach in both formal and small group sessions with faculty, residents and medical students. Second and third year trainees assist in teaching the Respiratory Physiology portion of the Physiology Course to the freshmen medical students. Trainees are also given a writing assignment in the first year (review article or case report). They are expected, with supervision from the faculty, to write research proposals and grant applications at each stage of their training. They are also expected to prepare a manuscript of publication quality describing their research results prior to completion of their training. Facilities/Personnel: Our section has 3 administrative staff and adequate office facilities (including microcomputers) for the trainees. The 400 sq. ft pulmonary function lab is staffed by two technicians and is capable of measuring lung function from infancy through adulthood. Outpatients are seen in a dedicated pulmonary/allergy clinic with dedicated reception and nursing staff.
Fellows attend clinics in coordination with other clinical and research activities. Patient Population For years there has been considerable migration of patients with respiratory disorders to Tucson and other cities in Arizona. This has produced a sizable pediatric patient population with a variety of pulmonary illnesses. Therefore, pediatric patients for care, research and teaching purposes are readily available. In addition, over 40% of our CF population is over 20 years of age, thus offering learning opportunities into the complex social and medical problems presented by advancing cystic fibrosis. The Pediatric Pulmonary Section has clinic five days per week in which patients with a variety of respiratory illnesses are seen. In addition to CF, the various disorders seen include asthma, bronchiolitis, idiopathic pulmonary hemosiderosis, bronchiectasis, congenital lung and airway anomalies, coccidioidomycosis, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, apnea and sleep disorders. In addition to these clinics, Outreach Clinics are held quarterly in Sierra Vista,Yuma, Fort Defiance, Chinle and White River, Arizona and Gallup, New Mexico. Inpatient pulmonary service patients and consultations are seen at Arizona Health Sciences Center (Diamond Children’s Medical Center) and at Tucson Medical Center (a large private hospital closely affiliated with the University). The same pediatric house officers cover the pediatric services at both hospitals and the full-time faculty attend at both as well. We perform approximately 150 flexible fiberoptic bronchoscopies per annum on outpatients and have a comprehensive training program in bronchoscopy. The University of Arizona has an active lung transplant program directed by Dr. M. Moulton. The trainees participate in patient assessment, referral and follow-up, working closely with the transplant team. We regularly follow over 130 CF patients with approximately 500-600 CF patient clinic visits per year. Trainees take an active role in the management of our CF patients. Complex patients are commonly assigned a ‘primary fellow’ in order to maintain continuity of care. All pediatric CF inpatients are managed or followed closely by the first year trainee. Finally, trainees are encouraged to participate in patient counseling, education, and activities such as Patient and Family Education Nights.
View our faculty here.
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