Pulmonary & Critical Care Fellowship Education

“There are plenty of reasons I loved training at this program, but the best part of our training program are the co-fellows and program directors themselves. There's such a great culture of collegiality, support, and constant laughs. You are not just working with peers or attendings, but creating lifelong friendships. Of course, getting the opportunity to work at both parkland and Clements greatly increases the pulmonary pathology you see so by the time you graduate this fellowship, you really have seen it all. Hands down, some of the best training years of my career were in pulmonary/critical care fellowship.”

“Training at UT Southwestern is one of the best decisions I have ever made. One can go on and on about the quality of the teaching, the awesome technology, the one-on-one teaching that you get, and so many other great things, but the best part of it are the people you get to work with, not only in the Pulmonary and Critical Care division but all around UT Southwestern. Attendings, co-fellows, residents, nurses and ancillary staff are all there to learn, teach, and take care of patients. Finally, after having had the experience of doing multiple electives at great medical institutions around the U.S. and the world, I can without a doubt say that the rare and unique cases that you will encounter at Parkland Hospital you will not likely find anywhere else and this will shape you to be a great pulmonologist and intensivist.”

“When I started fellowship nearly 3 years ago I did not know what to expect. The nature of Pulmonary and Critical Care medicine is defined by the unpredictable and highly variable illnesses of our patients. This is what attracts many of us to pursue a career in this field. However, that doesn’t make the challenges of moving to and adapting to a whole new city and hospital easier. This is where our program shines. No matter how challenging something is in medicine or life there is someone there to back you up. The tremendous support and respect from our faculty and co-fellows is endless. This is the strength of our program and something I continually grow to value. Learning from the experts in interstitial lung disease, pulmonary hypertension, interventional pulmonology, and cystic fibrosis is also a plus.”

“The best part of our training program is the diversity of training and the collegial nature of the program. With the three-hospital system, you are exposed to every kind of pulmonary disease as well as the various ways to practice critical care medicine. There is a fantastic balance between outpatient medicine, inpatient pulmonary disease, critical care, and pulmonary subspecialties in this program that is simply not available at other smaller programs. The culture and environment of the program is also second to none. My fellow colleagues all work together and support each other through the fellowship learning process, and we try to have as much fun together as possible! The faculty treat us as colleagues without the tedious hierarchy that some other programs seem to have entrenched into their culture, and our program directors are always a text or phone call away. I am very happy with my decision to train in this program, and I know that my colleagues feel the same way.”

“I can't choose my favorite thing about our training program so there are two! The first highlight is the people. I feel a true sense of camaraderie with my co-fellows; they are all brilliant and inspire me daily to be a better physician. The attendings I work with are wonderful. They are deeply invested in fellow education and treat me like a colleague. Secondly, I am especially appreciative of the different patient populations I care for at the various clinical locations. This exposure to a wide breadth of pulmonary medicine gives me confidence I will be exceptionally prepared for my first attending position. I am very grateful to be completing my pulmonary and critical care training at UTSW.”

“I think the best part about our program is that we are truly a family. I know everyone has my back and is supportive of everything that I do. I love my co-fellows and all the staff. We have so much fun working together. Fellowship is challenging but they make it full of laughs and memorable experiences in addition to the great training. The three hospital systems expose us to a wide variety of patient population and pathology, but what really makes this program unique are the people. We are a team — a family — and I’m grateful to be a part of it.”