Curriculum

The Fellowship Program consists of two years of core clinical rotations and electives and one year of research. The critical care experience provides the opportunity to manage adult patients with a wide variety of serious illnesses requiring treatment in a critical care setting.

The majority of the intensive care unit rotations are in the Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU). Because critical care is multidisciplinary in nature, Fellows also rotate for a minimum of three months in additional specialties, which may include:

• Surgical (Trauma) Intensive Care Unit
• Pediatric Intensive Care Unit
• Cardiac Intensive Care Unit
• Burn Unit
• Anesthesia Service
• High-Risk Obstetrics

As a busy Level I Trauma Center, rotation on these electives offers a unique experience that is not available with many other programs. The Fellow assumes responsibility, under appropriate supervision, for the care of patients throughout their stay in the critical care unit. 

Other core rotations include the Pulmonary Consult Service and the Physiology Service. On consults, fellows can expect to see a wide variety of pulmonary diseases on this service. The experience is enhanced by MetroHealth’s Tuberculosis Clinic (serving all of Northeast Ohio) and the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Unit, which cares for a number of patients with chronic respiratory failure.

Fellows follow their patients from hospital discharge to the outpatient arena, providing for continuity of care. Fellows spend a half-day per week in the clinic during the three-year Fellowship on the physiology service.

While on clinical rotations, the Fellow learns decision making and performs all indicated diagnostic procedures, such as fiberoptic bronchoscopy, pulmonary artery catheters, pleural biopsies, chest tubes and intubations.

The fellow also learns to interpret pulmonary function tests and how to conduct and interpret cardiopulmonary exercise studies. There is significant exposure to Sleep Medicine as well. MetroHealth is a primary training site of the Case Western Reserve University Sleep Fellowship.