Fellowship Program Overview

The Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowship at the Medical College of Georgia is a 3-year training program granting Board eligibility in both pulmonary and critical care. Each year we choose 2-3 fellows to join our program for a total of 6-7 fellows in training at any given time.

Our section has 8 full time clinical faculty members who are board cerified in both Pulmonary and Critical Care medicine. We have one part-time Nephrology/Critical Care faculty member. We also have one full time PhD research faculty member and additional PhD research associates.

Additional strengths of the program include:

• Affiliation with Augusta Veterans Administration Medical Center, a major teaching site
• A regional referral center for pulmonary hypertension with opportunity to learn elective right heart catheterization and vasodilator treatment
• National referral center for pulmonary arteriovenous malformations
• Adult and pediatric Cystic Fibrosis center
• Georgia Sleep Center with multichannel polysomnography and sleep latency testing.
• Interventional bronchoscopy techniques of endobronchial ultrasound, ballon bronchial dilatation, tissue ablation with argon plasma coagulation, electrocautery and tracheobronchial stents
• Rotation at the Joseph M. Still Burn Center at Doctor's Hospital in Augusta, Georgia
• Ongoing NIH funded research in vascular biology, ARDS and sepsis
• Pulmonary Rehabilitation rotation at University Hospital

Clinical and Elective Rotations:

Rotations are generally 1 month in duration and include clinical and elective rotations. The clinical rotations are divided between the MCG 4-ICU, VA Medical/Surgical ICU, MCG Pulmonary consult service, and VA Pulmonary consults service. Fellows typically have 12 months for research and elective training and 24 months of clinical training divided between MCG and the VAMC. Fellows rotate on the trauma service at MCG or the Joseph M. Still burn center one month during their fellowship.

Conferences:

Monday: Department of Medicine Basic Science (monthly) and M&M/CQI (monthly)

Tuesday: Pulmonary/Critical Care lecture series based on the three year curriculum (weekly) or Pulmonary Grand Rounds case based presentation and literature review (monthly - Sept - May)

Wednesday: Department of Medicine Grand Rounds (weekly); Multidisciplinary Core Curriculum (weekly - Sept - March); MCG Thoracic Case Conference; VA Case Conference (weekly); MCG Multidisciplinary thoracic case conference (weekly with Pulmonary, Thoracic Surgery, Pathology, Radiology, Oncology, and Radiation Oncology)

Thursday: Fellow's conference series (weekly) including Board Review, Research Methods Journal Club, and x-ray conference; and DOM Research Seminar (monthly)

Additional Benefits (subject to availablility of funds):

• All first year fellows start at the PGY4 pay grade regardless of prior training or experience
• Affiliate membership in the American College of Chest Physicians
• Free Parking
• Two labcoats
• Travel to a national meeting to present abstracts
• Board review course in third year

 

Program Director:

Thomas A. Dillard, M.D.

Professor of Medicine

Program Director, Pulmonary/Critical Care Fellowship Program

Director, Pulmonary Function Lab and Diagnostic Suite

Fellowship Coordinator

Karina Simon

Office Associate

Section Business Manager:

Tracy Brickey