Curriculum & Rotations — KHCC Pulmonary Fellowship

Program at a Glance

Fellowship Overview

The fellowship spans 3 academic years (July 1 – June 30), structured as 52 weekly blocks per year. First-year fellows begin with an intensive 8-week orientation on the Pulmonary Service before proceeding to other rotations.

3

Year Program

156

Total Training Blocks

52

Blocks Per Year

78

Pulmonary Service Blocks

8

Week Orientation (Year 1)

6

Fellows Per Cohort

Rotation Schedule

3-Year Rotation Breakdown

Rotation	Year 1	Year 2	Year 3	Total Blocks
🫁 Pulmonary Service Consults · Clinics · Bronchoscopy · IP · PFTs · Smoking	30 wks	24 wks	24 wks	78
🏥 Medical ICU	4 wks	4 wks	4 wks	12
😴 Sleep Medicine	4 wks	4 wks	4 wks	12
✂️ Thoracic Surgery	4 wks	4 wks	2 wks	10
🔬 Thoracic Radiology	4 wks	2 wks	2 wks	8
📊 Research	—	3 wks	4 wks	7
🔧 Procedural / IR Fellow	2 wks	2 wks	1 wk	5
📡 Thoracic POCUS / ECHO	1 wk	—	2 wks	3
🌍 Elective Home or Away · Fellow's Choice	—	4 wks	8 wks	12
🏖️ Vacation	3 wks	3 wks	3 wks	9
Grand Total	52	52	52	156

What You'll Experience

Rotation Highlights

🫁

Pulmonary Service

78 blocks · Core of the program

Inpatient consults, outpatient clinics, bronchoscopy, interventional pulmonology, PFT lab, and smoking cessation clinics. Clinics and procedures run throughout the year, not only during dedicated rotation blocks.

🏥

Medical ICU

12 blocks · Critical care immersion

Fellow serves as RRT responder also. In ICU covers ARDS, Hemodynamics, mechanical ventilation, vasopressor management, and multidisciplinary critical care in a high-acuity environment.

😴

Sleep Medicine

12 blocks · 4 weeks per year

In collaboration with the other hospitals' sleep labs, fellows will interpret polysomnography studies, manage OSA/OHS/central apnea, titrate CPAP/BiPAP, and participate in sleep-related breathing disorder clinics. Dedicated sleep lab exposure throughout all 3 years,and management of inpatient sleep disorders.

✂️

Thoracic Surgery

10 blocks · Surgical perspective

Operating room exposure, post-thoracotomy care, preoperative pulmonary evaluation, chest wall reconstruction, and combined surgical-pulmonary MDC participation.

🔬

Thoracic Radiology

8 blocks · Imaging mastery

Advanced interpretation of chest CT, high-resolution CT for diffuse lung disease, CXR, PET-CT, V/Q scans, and CT-bronchoscopy anatomical correlation with dedicated thoracic radiologists.

📊

Research

7 blocks · Yr 2 & 3 only

Dedicated research time with faculty mentorship. At least one completed research project is a requirement for graduation. Elective rotations can include additional research time.

Suggested Elective Rotations

Electives are available in Years 2 and 3 and can be completed at KHCC or at affiliated institutions locally and internationally.

Anesthesia Cardiology / PHTN Right Heart Catheterization Bronchoscopy PFT Lab Cystic Fibrosis Allergy / Immunology Transplant Interventional Pulm. Smoking Cessation Interventional Radiology Research

Program Structure Rules

Key Schedule Features

🏁

Year 1 Orientation

First-year fellows begin with a minimum 8-week Pulmonary Service orientation starting July 1, establishing foundational clinical competencies before other rotations.

📞

On-Call Structure

Year 1 fellows serve as 1st on-call; Year 2 fellows as 2nd on-call. At least one Year 1 fellow must be on Pulmonary Service alongside one senior fellow at all times.

🔁

Rotation Flexibility

Rotations longer than 4 blocks can be split across the year. Shorter rotations (<4 blocks) may be combined within a single month for efficiency and continuity of learning.

🎓

Research Requirement

Completion of at least one research project is a mandatory graduation requirement. Elective rotations can be used for additional dedicated research time with faculty mentorship.

🌐

Elective Flexibility

Elective rotations can be completed at KHCC (home) or at external institutions nationally and internationally, allowing fellows to pursue specific subspecialty interests.

🏖️

Vacation Policy

3 vacation blocks (weeks) per year. At least 2 of the 3 vacation blocks must be scheduled in advance through the program coordinator to ensure coverage.