- Joined
- Jun 27, 2019
- Messages
- 5
- Reaction score
- 7
Hey! Just finishing my fellowship at University of Alabama- Birmingham. Wanted to say, if anyone is looking for an academic program that still allows the fellows to get broad procedural skills, would definitely check it out! Example of procedures I've done over the last 2 years.
I'm finishing with >120 intubations from all different modalities (McGrath, DL, CMAC, Glide, fiberoptic, awake) in nearly all settings (code, OR, planned settings in ICU).
I have done >50 full staging EBUS, >20 robotic ION cases for nav (used super-d/veran for a bit LOL). Done around 220 bronch (too many BAL's to count)
I've done >50 chest tubes (surgical, pigtail (14 French), and little 8 french darts for pneumo)
For the weirder stuff, I've done 25 percutaneous tracheostomy (not as hard as you would think), 3 whole lung lavage (kill me, took days in bronch suite but pts felt a lot better), cannulated about 5 of my patients for ECMO (suturing was hardest part of procedure haha), done a good number of pleur-x, bedside pleurodesis (somewhere around 10 combined)
For the more academic stuff, I've participated in a few pragmatic trials (we are always churning them through the ICU and pulm clinic here), there is ton of research opportunities (especially in CF, COPD) but I wasn't as interested in that. I had 3 publications during fellowship, but mostly did them because I had great mentors rather than actual enthusiasm for the subject material.
The work hours are pretty intense, but I feel super prepared for my attending job (although definitely nervous haha)!
DOWNSIDES: Birmingham isn't that sexy of a city. Close to Nashville/Atlanta, but TBH I never really went to either. Definitely more family focused area.
Cards runs PH here, so if you want to do more of that you have to work it out with their department.
We only do about 35 double lung transplants a year here, I know some bigger centers are doing closer to 100.
So there are academic centers that still let the fellows be fellows! I never felt like a note-monkey here or just a "junior attending" (aka a term thrown around when you just round with the ICU team then the actual attending comes behind you with the real plan).
Let me know of any Q's!
I'm finishing with >120 intubations from all different modalities (McGrath, DL, CMAC, Glide, fiberoptic, awake) in nearly all settings (code, OR, planned settings in ICU).
I have done >50 full staging EBUS, >20 robotic ION cases for nav (used super-d/veran for a bit LOL). Done around 220 bronch (too many BAL's to count)
I've done >50 chest tubes (surgical, pigtail (14 French), and little 8 french darts for pneumo)
For the weirder stuff, I've done 25 percutaneous tracheostomy (not as hard as you would think), 3 whole lung lavage (kill me, took days in bronch suite but pts felt a lot better), cannulated about 5 of my patients for ECMO (suturing was hardest part of procedure haha), done a good number of pleur-x, bedside pleurodesis (somewhere around 10 combined)
For the more academic stuff, I've participated in a few pragmatic trials (we are always churning them through the ICU and pulm clinic here), there is ton of research opportunities (especially in CF, COPD) but I wasn't as interested in that. I had 3 publications during fellowship, but mostly did them because I had great mentors rather than actual enthusiasm for the subject material.
The work hours are pretty intense, but I feel super prepared for my attending job (although definitely nervous haha)!
DOWNSIDES: Birmingham isn't that sexy of a city. Close to Nashville/Atlanta, but TBH I never really went to either. Definitely more family focused area.
Cards runs PH here, so if you want to do more of that you have to work it out with their department.
We only do about 35 double lung transplants a year here, I know some bigger centers are doing closer to 100.
So there are academic centers that still let the fellows be fellows! I never felt like a note-monkey here or just a "junior attending" (aka a term thrown around when you just round with the ICU team then the actual attending comes behind you with the real plan).
Let me know of any Q's!
