Pediatric Pulmonary Fellowship
Introductory Letter

Thank you for inquiring about the Pediatric Pulmonary Fellowship at the University of Washington School of Medicine and Seattle Children’s.  This is a 3–year program that trains individuals to become board-certified pediatric pulmonologists with emphasis on clinical expertise and research experience.  The fellowship is accredited by both the American Council on Graduate Medical Education and the American Board of Pediatrics.  The Fellowship is offered by the Division of Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine at Seattle Children’s as part of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine.  Our division includes 13 pediatric pulmonologists, all of whom participate in clinical activities, teaching, and research. The clinical program includes activities at Seattle Children’s, a 240 bed pediatric hospital with a four state referral system and outreach opportunities, including clinics in Alaska.  Division members are nationally and internationally recognized for their expertise, and we enjoy working together and making fellows an integral part of the team.  We are located in the magnificent Pacific Northwest surrounded by beautiful mountains and the Puget Sound.  The activities during each year of fellowship training are described below:

In accordance with the American Board of Pediatrics, fellows receive approximately 14 months of combined inpatient/outpatient clinical training during the 3–year program.  The first year emphasizes clinical training and an introduction to research.  There are approximately six months of inpatient duties, during which the fellow is responsible for an average of 8–12 inpatients per day on the pulmonary service and 5-10 patients on the consult service at Seattle Children's.  The outpatient experience includes participating in Chest, Sleep, Asthma and/or Cystic Fibrosis Clinics, one-two ½-days per week, throughout the year.  There is a fully equipped clinical pulmonary function lab with body plethysmography, spirometry, formal exercise testing, and infant pulmonary function testing.  There is also a state-of the-art Sleep Center, which performs approximately 18 polysomnographic studies each week.  Fellows learn to interpretation of pulmonary function tests and sleep studies and are also instructed on flexible bronchoscopy.  During the first year, fellows will spend 1 month in the Pediatric ICU and have opportunities for electives.  Fellows also are active participants in a respiratory physiology review each year.  We have a weekly Journal Club, monthly Radiology/Chest conferences, and monthly clinical case conferences and/or research “works in progress” discussions.

First Year:

1. Training and direction in research begin.  This includes discussions of research topics/areas of interest and identifying a research mentor.  The first-year fellow can rotate through basic laboratories within the University of Washington system and the basic science laboratories of the Cystic Fibrosis Research Development Program.  Specifically, the laboratories that are performing lung cellular and molecular biology at the University of Washington provide excellent research opportunities for trainees.  An active clinical research program in cystic fibrosis including Cystic Fibrosis Foundation-funded Therapeutics Development Center provides trainees with opportunities to participate in cystic fibrosis clinical trials.  There are also opportunities to participate in clinical studies in other diseases, such as asthma.

1. Examples of current research interests among divisional and non–divisional faculty include, asthma, non-invasive monitoring of lower airway inflammation in wheezing infants, RSV preventive therapies, clinical investigation of novel new therapies and outcome measures in cystic fibrosis (i.e. raised-volume infant lung function tests, hypertonic-saline induced sputum), early anti-pseudomonal treatment in young children with cystic fibrosis, basic research on pseudomonas-host interactions in the CF airway, and gene therapy related to cystic fibrosis.

Second Year:

• The second year is devoted primarily to research efforts, which can be clinical and/or basic science in nature.  Fellows who are interested in clinical research are encouraged to enroll in the University of Washington School of Public Health to pursue a Masters of Public Health degree. Each fellow is expected to complete one research project during the second year that can be presented at a national meeting and submitted for publication.  Clinical activities in the second year include two months on the pulmonary service at Seattle Children's and weekly participation in Chest, Sleep, Asthma, and Cystic Fibrosis Clinics (1/2-day per week, total).  We emphasize continuity of care and encourage fellows to manage a core group of patients identified from the first year.

Third Year:

1. The third year of the fellowship is devoted to research, further clinical training, and team leadership skills.  A goal is for the trainee to work with faculty to obtain research funding for an individual research project during the third year of training.  There is ongoing longitudinal participation in Chest, Sleep, Asthma, and Cystic Fibrosis Clinics (1/2-day per week) and one month in a supervisory role on the pulmonary service at Seattle Children's.

One first year fellowship position is open beginning in July of 2011.  Please note that our fellowship funding sources require U.S. citizenship* to enable funding this position.

If you are interested in the program, please send your personal statement, curriculum vitae and 3 letters of recommendation to our Division office. 

Thank you for taking the time to consider our program.  Please feel free to call or email us if you would like to talk about the program.  We would be more than happy to communicate with you by telephone or via email.  We believe that our program has excellent clinical and research opportunities and an outstanding tradition of training.  We look forward to meeting with you to discuss the fellowship.

*Citizenship:  A fellow or trainee must be a United States citizen, or, as an alien, must have been admitted to the United States with a permanent resident visa. Licensure:  For any profession for which licensure is a prerequisite, the applicant must also be licensed by one of the States, or, in the case of foreign graduates, meet other requirements which legally qualify him/her to practice his/her profession in the United States.