USC/LA General Pulmonary, Critical Care Fellowship

The PCCSM Fellowship Program is designed to provide each trainee with a range of exposure to the diagnosis and management of pulmonary diseases, the experience and skills required of an intensivist and the opportunity to develop research interests. Seven new fellows are currently admitted to the program every year. Clinical and teaching responsibilities encompass most of the first and second years, with a significant part of the third year devoted to research activities. During the clinical phase of training, fellows devote their time to evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of patients admitted to Los Angeles General Medical Center, KH and Norris. Fellows assess problems, make appropriate diagnostic and therapeutic recommendations and perform specialized procedures, including fiberoptic and advanced bronchoscopy, percutaneous needle biopsy of the lung and pleura, thoracentesis and pleurodesis. Trainees receive instruction in pulmonary function testing, thoracic and critical care ultrasonography and x-ray interpretation, including high-resolution computerized tomography (HRCT), the principles and techniques of mechanical ventilation and inhalation therapy, and all aspects of tertiary pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine.

Our Critical Care training encompasses experience in advanced mechanical ventilator management, critical care procedures including percutaneous tracheostomy and right heart catheterization, bedside critical care ultrasound, ARDS salvage therapies, and mechanical circulatory support device management.  Our Pulmonary Disease training includes rotations through our subspecialty pulmonary programs including Cystic Fibrosis, Pulmonary Hypertension, Pulmonary Transplant, Sleep Medicine, Advanced Bronchoscopy and Interventional Pulmonary Procedures.  We also have very active consultation and outpatient clinic services with exposure to various pulmonary pathologies and advanced lung disease.  Fellows will also develop experience in interpreting pulmonary function tests and cardiopulmonary exercise tests.

Fellows are also exposed to a wide spectrum and volume of procedural skills training as part of their patient care duties, and have both fresh tissue and simulation skills sessions throughout their fellowship. All fellows are scheduled to attend bi-annual half-day skills workshops in which they practice key procedures such as central lines, chest tube insertions, intubations, percutaneous tracheostomy, intraosseous access, pleural procedures and management of difficult airways. Fellows also attend the Southern California point-of-care-ultrasound course as well as an EBUS training program in the course of their training. The Division is also committed to didactic teaching with daily conferences including regularly scheduled grand rounds, journal club, radiology, pathology, infectious disease, morbidity and mortality review, Quality and Patient Safety and physiology conferences.

The Division has also been committed to providing essential teaching for the education of second-year medical students. Both current and former faculty members participate in lectures and small group discussions on various topics in respiratory medicine.

Division Teaching Conferences

Our strong commitment to teaching is evident in an extensive daily conference schedule, starting at 8:30 am and consisting of didactic lectures, multidisciplinary case conferences, grand rounds, morbidity and mortality conferences, and research seminars on various aspects of pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine and related sciences. Combined thoracic surgery and thoracic oncology conferences (Tumor Board) are held every Wednesday from 5:00-6:00pm.

Monthly Journal Clubs stress the importance of evaluating, analyzing and presenting medical research literature. Guest lectures and both clinical and basic research seminars featuring nationally and internationally known physician-scientists are held bi-monthly. Daily rounds conducted in all the USC hospitals form the cornerstone of our clinical teaching program. These in-depth sessions ensure the highest quality patient care. Full-time faculty conduct bedside rounds as well as clinical discussions. House staff, medical students, fellows and attending physicians participate in these daily rounds.

Strong subspecialty pulmonary programs including:

Fellowship Process

Applicants to the USC Division of Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine Program must apply through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS). All fellowship positions will be offered through the National Residency Match Program (NRMP) and we only accept applicants through the NRMP Match. For further information, please contact us: pccm@med.usc.edu.

USC Three-Year Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowship Program Listing:

NRMP #1033156F0.

The application deadline is July 16th.

Program Requirements

Applications are accepted only through ERAS. Documents that are mailed, faxed or emailed will not be incorporated into your file.

All applicants must take the USMLE. We do not accept COMLEX as your only exam.

A completed application must include the ERAS common application form, medical school transcript, a letter from the Dean of your Medical School, personal statement, a letter from your department Program Director, and two additional letters.

International Graduates should possess valid ECFMG certificates and have the State of California eligibility letter. We only accept J-1 visas. US clinical experience is required.

Applications submitted through ERAS will be reviewed. If your application is selected for an invitation to interview, you will be contacted via email.

Interview Day

Due to social distancing guidelines as well as recommendations from the AAMC, NRMP, APCCMPD and other organizations, all interviews this applicant season will be conducted online and interview “visits” will be virtual. We will be sending out links to our virtual interview day which will include a welcome orientation from the program director as well as to a virtual tour and examples of our online conferences. Applicants who are chosen to interview will be given options for dates/times for meetings on zoom. These interviews will take place in assorted time blocks to accommodate different time zones. Interviews will last approximately 2 hours – please plan accordingly. Interviewees will also be given an opportunity to have a casual “lunch” with our fellows to ask any questions they have regarding the training program. We hope that you will seriously consider interviewing with our program, and good luck!

The USC Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Fellowship is located at IRD Building 7th Floor, 2020 Zonal Ave, LA, CA 90033.

The PCCSM Division provides a strong and creative research core alongside impressive clinical services. Basic and applied research are the cornerstones of the Division, which is well-known for its cutting edge mechanistic studies in regulation of function and biology of the pulmonary alveolar epithelium. To learn more about our Division’s research, please explore the links on this page, or contact the Fellowship Program Director, Dr. May Lee (maym.lee@med.usc.edu), for more information.

• Medical Intensive Care Unit (both LA General and Keck)
• Neuro Intensive Care Unit
• Cardiac and Cardiac Surgery Intensive Care Unit
• Mechanical Circulatory Support Unit
• Pulmonary Consult service (both LA General and Keck)
• Pulmonary Transplant and Pulmonary Hypertension Service
• Pulmonary Procedures (both LA General and Keck)
• Multi Specialty Ambulatory Block in the Center for Advanced Lung Disease
• Sleep Medicine Clinic
• Trauma rotation
• Palliative Care rotation
• Night float
• Research blocks

Sample Block Schedule

INSTITUTION KEY:
LAGMC = Los Angeles General Hospital
Norris = Norris Cancer Hospital
Keck = Keck Hospital

ROTATION KEY:
5W = CT surgery ICU
Prods = Procedures
CPICU = cardio-pulmonary ICU
MCSICU = mechanical circulatory support intensive care unit
Pulm HTN = Pulmonary Hypertension
palliative = palliative care
MICU = medical intensive care unit
R/E = Research/Elective
NF = night float
amb = ambulatory