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The Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Fellowship Program at the University of Maryland is a nationally renowned program, known for training physicians for successful careers in both clinical practice and research. We provide an accredited high-quality three-year program that balances comprehensive clinical training with experience in the fundamentals of clinical, translational, and basic science research.

Our program aims to:

  1. Train highly competent, compassionate physicians that provide excellent, state-of-the-art care to their patients
  2. Offer a fair balance between pulmonary medicine and critical care medicine
  3. Provide fellows with a strong educational program in both research and clinical training

We seek applicants that strive to be the best clinician they can be and are eager to enhance their clinical knowledge base with research in pulmonary and/or critical care medicine. We believe that learning how to properly and rigorously ask and answer scientific questions makes us better physicians. Thus, the clinical training is balanced with a dedicated research year.

Our referral base is large, and the acuity of our Medical Intensive Care Unit is one of the highest in the country. This, along with our partnerships with Shock Trauma Center, Baltimore VA Medical Center, NIH Clinical Center, and UMMC Midtown, results in a rich learning environment with a broad range of critical care and pulmonary rotations to train the next leaders in Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine.

See what fellows say about our program.

Letter from the Program Director

Dear Fellowship Applicant,

Welcome to the Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Fellowship Program! As a graduate of this program, I can personally attest to the extensive clinical and research opportunities available and the individualized support and effective mentorship provided by the faculty. It is my honor and privilege to continue this support as Program Director.

Program Highlights

  • Clinical Training During COVID-19: The same level of supervision pre-COVID had been maintained throughout, including 24/7 attending coverage in the UMMC MICU.
  • Numerous wellness resources are sponsored by the GME Office and our division. The health and well-being of our fellows as well as mitigation of fatigue and moral injury is a top priority.
  • A Multi-Institutional Education Program for the Mid-Atlantic region is held every July. This is a month-long "boot camp" that all incoming fellows participate in and is supplemented by an Advanced Education Program in the winter. Thus, the first month for first-year fellows is protected education time with no clinical responsibilities.
  • All didactic conferences had been transitioned to a virtual format and recorded. Conferences will be given in a hybrid model for the 2021 academic year.
  • The Division is very productive academically, with more than 20 abstract presentations at the American Thoracic Society International Meeting in 2021. Most fellows' research projects have resulted in publications, and there are numerous opportunities to participate in research.
  • Our program has subspecialty rotations in Lung Transplant, Interventional Pulmonology, Interstitial Lung Disease, and Sleep Medicine. Fellows also have the opportunity to rotate on the Pulmonary Consult Service at the NIH Clinical Center (Bethesda, MD). This rotation is a unique opportunity to see rare diseases and a wide variety of immunosuppressed conditions.
  • Similarly, the variety of intensive care units offers robust training in critical care medicine. Rotations include the Medical ICU, Cardiac Surgery ICU, Neuro ICU, Surgical ICU, Trauma ICU, Lung Rescue Unit (a dedicated VV-ECMO unit), and Critical Care Resuscitation Unit.
  • The third-year fellow schedule is tailored to each individual's needs and interests. This optimally prepares fellows for their chosen career path. Thus, no two schedules are the same. Fellows can pursue either more clinical or research training based on their preferences.
  • Fellows achieve competency in a wide array of procedures by the end of their training, including endotracheal intubation, mechanical ventilator management, critical care ultrasound, bronchoscopy, endobronchial ultrasound, thoracenteses, and pigtail catheter placement.
  • Our graduates have achieved a 100% pass rate for the Critical Care Medicine board and 97% for the Pulmonary Medicine boards over the past 5 years. 

Thank you for your interest in our program. In accordance with AAIM and APCCMPD recommendations, we will be performing interviews virtually for the 2021-22 period. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me.

 You can also follow us on Twitter @UMdPCCM for an inside look to our program! Learn why you should choose UMMC about life in Baltimore. 

 

 

Van Holden head shot

Sincerely, 

Van K. Holden
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Section of Interventional Pulmonology
University of Maryland School of Medicine
Director, PCCM fellowship program
vholden@som.umaryland.edu

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