Clinical Experience
Fellows provide care for four to 10 inpatients on the pediatric pulmonary service; inpatient rotations take place at American Family Children’s Hospital.
In concert with the philosophy of graduated responsibility with increasing experience, first-year fellows oversee patient care by pediatric residents with close supervision by attending faculty. Second-year fellows take a more primary role in supervising inpatient care, with the attending physician involved daily in decision making and available as needed for extra supervision and input. Third-year fellows generally assume responsibility for the care of inpatients and consults with the attending faculty on complex cases.
Fellows are expected to take primary responsibility for the care of patients they see in the outpatient clinic. Because many patients on the pediatric pulmonary service are children with chronic diseases, developing a longitudinal relationship with patients and families is a critical part of training. As with inpatient experiences, we follow a philosophy of graduated responsibility.
Fellows will care for children who are ventilator dependent, and who have a variety of disorders and complications, including cystic fibrosis, asthma, tracheostomies, congenital lung abnormalities, pneumonias, chronic lung disease, sleep disorders, and neuromuscular disorders.
American Family Children’s Hospital is home to the University of Wisconsin Cystic Fibrosis Center, one of more than 115 care centers across the country accredited by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
Scholarly Activity
In the first year, fellows explore research areas of interest. Fellows then commit to a research project and receive protected time in the second and third years to complete the study. Potential research projects can take place within the pediatric pulmonology division and in collaboration with other divisions in the Department of Pediatrics and/or the Department of Medicine (allergy, neonatology & newborn nursery, infectious disease and adult pulmonology).
Examples of research projects in our division include:
- A randomized controlled trial of cystic fibrosis newborn screening;
- Determining the outcomes of cystic fibrosis newborn screening in a routine clinical program;
- Clinical trials of new drug therapies for cystic fibrosis;
- Longitudinal prediction of lung disease severity in children with cystic fibrosis;
- Rhinovirus infection and childhood asthma;
- Clinical trials in the AsthmaNet network;
- Development of a database of respiratory care for patients with spinal muscular atrophy; and
Academic Experience
Fellows enhance our department’s teaching program through their interactions with medical students and residents on the wards and in the clinics. Fellows present lectures within the pediatric pulmonary conference schedule, and are invited to present lectures to other divisions, including the critical care and allergy divisions. A pediatric grand-rounds presentation is required in the third year of fellowship.