It is our philosophy that honing teaching proficiency is a vital skill and an essential aspect of fellowship training. Each fellow, therefore, is encouraged to participate in the training of Internal Medicine residents and medical students in a variety of ways. Fellows present informal conferences to residents and medical students rotating on the pulmonary elective and the ICU. Our fellows organize and teach a third-year medical student course in chest x-ray reading. Additionally, many of our fellows participate in the small group teaching sections of the medical school Pulmonary Pathophysiology course.
Curriculum Overview
The first 12 months of the fellowship are relatively structured and devoted to clinical activities. Fellows rotate through the core training hospitals during the first year. The curriculum includes a mix of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine with an emphasis on Pulmonary. In the second year of the program there is more focus on advanced Critical Care training in tertiary Medical Intensive Care Units (ICUs), Surgical ICUs, a Respiratory Care Unit, and a Neurosurgical ICU. Half-way through the second-year fellows begin a minimum of 12 months of research. After the research block has been completed, fellows resume clinical rotations in the second half of their third year and may also have time for elective rotations or additional research blocks. There is some flexibility in the choosing of third year rotations such that more time can be spent on topics of interest or research if desired. If fellows wish to pursue additional research years, they may apply for the T32 training grant.
Summer Lecture Series Curriculum
Available Conferences
There are a variety of conferences available for fellows across the hospital systems, which are covered in the table below.
Some notable conferences include…
Case Management Conferences
These weekly conferences are held by the pulmonary staff for all fellows. Difficult current cases are presented. The diagnosis and management of a variety of topics are discussed.Pulmonary Grand Rounds
This weekly teaching conference is held on the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University campus with the entire faculty and with pulmonary specialists in the practicing community. This conference begins in September and is preceded during the summer by an introductory lecture series for the clinical fellows. The conference focuses on important topics in clinical pulmonary medicine through a case presentation format. Annotated bibliographies are distributed to provide an updated reference base.Brown Pulmonary Research Seminar Series
This weekly conference is designed to allow pulmonary fellows, Brown faculty and visiting speakers to present their research to an audience that includes clinicians and researchers, both clinical and basic science. These conferences serve as an excellent forum for work-in-progress seminars.Pulmonary Oncology Conference
This multidisciplinary conference is held twice a month at Rhode Island Hospital and attracts faculty from the Divisions of Hematology/Oncology, Radiation Oncology, Thoracic Surgery, Radiology, Pathology and Pulmonary/Critical Care Medicine. Discussions focus on the management of patients with thoracic tumors.Combined Medical/Surgical/Trauma Critical Care Rounds
This conference affords fellows the opportunity to present cases in a interdisciplinary context. The conference usually centers around a case presentation that highlights the different approach between medical and surgical critical care. The strong collaborative relationship between medical and surgical/trauma critical care is one of the clear strengths of the program.Journal Club
Held monthly, this evidence-based medicine journal club is intended to teach fellows to evaluate critically the current literature in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and assess the likelihood of it changing clinical practice.Pulmonary Physiology Conference
This conference is held weekly at the Providence VA where journal articles are discussed, CPET are interpreted and fellows learn complex physiology concepts under the guidance of Dr. Eric Gartman. Articles are frequently reviewed and discussed along with pulmonary physiologists at the University of Limerick in Ireland, who collaborate via video conferencing.CardioPulmonary Vascular Biology Center for Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) Research Seminar
This conference is held biweekly at the PVAMC and features research performed by faculty in the areas of cardiovascular and pulmonary vascular diseases. In addition, there is a rich and robust program of visiting professors from other departments at Brown and other universities.The Vascular Research Laboratory
The PVAMC holds biweekly research seminars in which faculty and trainees present work in progress.Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
Brown University is committed to maintaining an inclusive environment for the entire Brown community, and our division and its associated training programs specifically seek to promote an atmosphere of respect and facilitate a sense of belonging in all interactions, whether virtual or in person. To that end, we have multiple resources for faculty and trainees to help manage challenges related to racism, diversity, equity, justice and inclusion, as well as formal curriculum for our group in the forms of Bias Reduction in Internal Medicine (BRIM) training and the JEDI curriculum, of which Dr. Banerjee of our division is the director.
- Brown University Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity
- Brown Advocates for Social Change and Equity (BASCE)
- Brown Minority Housestaff Association (BMHA)
- Brown University – Diversity & Multicultural Affairs
- Brown University Internal Medicine Diversity Webpage
- Bias Reduction in Internal Medicine (BRIM Initiative)