FELLOWSHIP TRAINEE TRACKS                            Tracks | Rotations | Benefits | Apply

The training program has been designed so that each trainee will meet requirements for certification in both Pulmonary Diseases and Critical Care Medicine.  To do so requires two years of clinical training and a total of three years of fellowship.  Most trainees will follow a three-year Clinical Track which includes outstanding clinical training as well as experience in clinical investigation.  A four-year Physician Investigator Track is available for selected trainees committed to a career in academic medicine with major basic research interests.

Clinical Track | Physician Investigator Track

The clinical track consists of three years of training during which the fellow rotates between six different clinical rotations, as well as having research time and concurrent ambulatory care experience.   There are eight rotation blocks of 6-7 week lengths each year.   The fellow will ultimately be assigned to each clinical rotation approximately four times over three years. 

During the first year of training the emphasis is primarily upon clinical pulmonary diseases so that proportionately more time is devoted to the pulmonary consult rotations.  The fellow does rotate on the other critical care and pulmonary specialty rotations during this year however.

The second year is designed to emphasize critical care training so that proportionately more time is assigned for ICU rotations, through the ICU rotations, though the fellow continues to have other rotations during this year.

The third year is designed to consolidate the trainees experience so that there is a balanced assignment to both pulmonary and critical care.  Proportionately more time is assigned to the pulmonary specialty rotation (St. Paul).

Clinical fellows will participate in clinical research under the guidance of the Clinical Research Committee and with the direct mentorship by an appropriate member of the faculty. Projects are organized and initiated in the first year or early in the second. Although some work is conducted concurrently with clinical rotations, six weeks of protected time is set aside for each fellow in the first and second year, as well as three months in the third year to facilitate scholarly activity.  


Physician Investigator Track | Clinical Track

Trainees who commit to the pursuit of a career as a physician investigator and who thus plan to devote a substantial effort to basic scientific investigation in their future careers may be offered an additional year of training through the alternative Physician Investigator Track.  This program is designed to provide 18 months of clinical training similar to the three-year Clinical Track while also providing enhanced instruction and experience in basic scientific methodology.  This track will provide added didactic experience in study design, statistical analysis, and epidemiology.  Trainees will gain experience in fundamental techniques including immunology, cell biology and molecular biology.  Expanded, uninterrupted time (2-1/2 years) is set aside for conducting research investigation.  The goal of this track is to prepare highly motivated individuals for a successful career in research.

The trainee’s investigation will be conducted under the mentorship of one of the division’s experienced investigators.   Detailed description of basic research projects available to trainees will be provided to interested applicants during the interview process.   The division has a long-standing tradition of close collaboration with other divisions and basic science departments.  Thus the trainee will have access to the extensive resources of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, home of 4 Nobel Laureates and 14 members of the National Academy of Sciences. 

Trainees on the physician investigator track spend the first year and a half rotating among the six clinical rotations described earlier, participating in outpatient clinics and conferences and taking call just as other fellows on the clinical track. 

Formal research training begins in the middle of the second year and continues uninterrupted through the third and fourth years.  The fellow participates in continuity clinic one half day per week and attends division conferences during the research years.  Although the fellow participates in the at-home call rotation for coverage at the major institutions, call occurs less frequently during the research years (approximately one week out of every three or four).

Trainees will thus receive 2-1/2 years of uninterrupted research experience, obtained outstanding clinical training and meet the training requirements for board certification in both Pulmonary Diseases and Critical Care Medicine.

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