Welcome to the Miller Children’s Hospital – UCI Pediatric Pulmonary Fellowship Program. The field of Pediatric Pulmonology is in an exciting stage of growth. With less than 1,000 specialists in this field nationwide and increasing pulmonary disease frequency in children too young adults, the field of Pediatric Pulmonology is poised to make a great impact on millions of children and young adults across the country. From common conditions such as asthma and exercise-induced bronchospasm to the esoteric children’s interstitial lung diseases and cystic fibrosis, Pediatric Pulmonology covers the spectrum of disease burden. The field continues to grow in coverage of co-morbid conditions as well including myopathies, sickle cell disease, congenital heart disease, and much more. Among the many pediatric subspecialties, Pediatric Pulmonology perhaps stands to meet the greatest need with the greatest advancements in the next decade.
The history of Pediatric Pulmonology starts with programs like ours. Founded by Dr. Eliezer Nussbaum in the early 1980s, the Pediatric Pulmonology Fellowship Program at Miller’s Children Hospital has continuously been accredited for over 30 years. Dr. Nussbaum, a pioneer in the field of Pediatric Pulmonology and Pediatric Intensive Care, established the training program with the core goal of training the next generation of clinicians and researchers in the field.
Over three decades later, the fellowship program boasts alumni who practice across the United States and worldwide functioning as attendings, practitioners, and divisions chiefs of top universities. The fellowship program is housed within one of the largest Pediatric Pulmonology divisions in the country counting over 9,000 outpatient visits per year in the pulmonary center alone.
Letter from Dr. Randhawa
"Every fellow should complete the program knowing they can advance the field of Pediatric Pulmonology."
Serving as Program Director since 2010 has been an inspiring experience. Organizing and operating a training program in Pediatric Pulmonology is hard work with one focused goal: Every fellow should complete the program knowing they can advance the field of Pediatric Pulmonology. Instilling confidence during training is the key. Confidence in clinical care, administrative skills, procedures, research and professionalism allows our fellows to leave our program and advance their careers as leaders in our field. The training program’s philosophy drives the fellows’ 3-year experience. While the program offers rigorous exposure to clinical and research rotations, it also is focused on your well being. Fellows have ample time to achieve work-life balance during training. Our program believes in training the whole person – clinician, researcher, and human.
Miller Children’s & Women's Hospital Long Beach provides specialized pediatric care for children and young adults, with conditions ranging from common to complex — as well as maternity care for expectant mothers — all under one roof. Only five percent of all hospitals are children’s hospitals, making them unique not only to children’s health care needs in the community, but across the region. Miller Children’s is one of only eight free-standing children’s hospitals in California.
Each fellow will select a primary research mentor who will chair their Scholarly Activity Oversight Committee. This individual must be approved by the program director. The research mentor should be the lead on the fellow’s research project design, implementation, and execution.
The research mentor does not have to be affiliated with UCI, Miller’s, or TPIRC. However, the research mentor will hold responsibilities toward the fellow’s scholarly activity requirement. Most fellows will select a research project and primary research mentor by the middle of their first year of training.
The Fellows Didactic lecture series is a weekly conference designed around knowledge acquisition and teaching geared towards core topics to pediatric pulmonary practice and serves as a basis for Boards Preparation.
Topics
Ventilators
Common disorder of prematurity
Digital Health Care
Hemodynamic Physiology
Pulmonary Hypertension
Respiratory Failure
Pediatric Airway (ENT)
Cardiology considerations CPET
Sleep Disorder
Allergic Rhinitis
Allergic Bronchopulmonary Aspergillosis (ABPA)
Novel Therapies
Bronchoscopy
Steroid Sparing Agents
Novel Therapies for CF
CRFLD (GI)
Pulmonary Function Test (PFT) (Infant & Peds)
Immunology
Chronic Respiratory Failure
Long Term Ventilator
Sickle Cell
Journal Club
Upper Airway & Immunocompromised Host
Cystic Fibrosis
Lung Primary & Secondary Immune Defense
Immunodeficiency
Asthma (Updates)
Nebulized Medications, IV Antibiotics, Resistance Mechanisms
Hemodynamic/Lung Mechanic/High Altitude Physiology
Chronic Cough/Recurrent Pulmonary Infiltrate
Radiology Conference
The Radiology Department at Miller’s remains dedicated to the care of our patients and the education of our fellows. Aside from an “open door” consultation policy on any patient, fellows regularly interact with the director of Pediatric Radiology, Dr. Son Nguyen.
CT, MRI, reconstructive imaging, and ultrasound are all reviewed in didactic sessions on a monthly basis with Dr. Nguyen or his colleagues. Understanding radiology is complex. Mastering the skill of radiologic interpretation is achieved by the end of fellowship allowing our graduates to succeed in real-world practice.
Grand Rounds occur every Friday at Miller’s year-round. The Pulmonary Division comprises 20% of all Grand Rounds presentations. Our attendings, with their diverse backgrounds, are subject matter experts nationally on a variety of pulmonary topics. In addition, we regularly invite scholars in the field of pulmonary to present at Grand Rounds. Fellows’ attendance is mandatory. However, the quality of presentations and didactics of Grand Rounds is such that it’s a no-miss event for many trainees at the institution.
The Clinical Pathological Conference (CPC) is a highlight of every fellow’s time at Miller’s. The CPC highlights the age-old model of medical training during which an entire department learns of a complex disease through the presentation of clinical pathology. Each fellow selects, prepares, and presents at least one CPC during the fellowship. The goal of the CPC is to utilize a single patient case and present the complexity of the case from the bedside to biopsy and from treatment to outcome.
The University of Arizona Pediatric Pulmonary Center facilitates the monthly Western States Pediatric Pulmonary Case Study for pediatric pulmonologists, fellows, and trainees. These case studies have grown from only including the Western States to national and international participants. Each month there is a new presenter from one of the participating institutions.
All documentation must be received before an applicant’s file is reviewed. Applicant files are processed in the order which they are received. Program staff begin interviewing potential candidates in mid-August and continue through the end of September. For questions regarding ERAS, please contact myeras@aamc.org or (202) 862-6264. We participate in the National Resident Matching Program’s (NRMP) Fall Pediatric Subspecialties match.
Why UCI/MCH: I chose UCI\MCH because I wanted to be involved in all aspects of the care continuum, create long-term relationships with patients and physicians, help the underserved, be involved with community health programs, and be alongside fellows with diverse interests, backgrounds, and career goals.
For more information about applying to our pulmonary fellowship program, please contact:
Angel Arvizu (for Dr. Eliezer Nussbaum, Pulmonary Fellowship Director)
Pulmonary Fellowship Coordinator
2801 Atlantic Ave., ground floor
Long Beach, CA 90806
562-933-8749/8748
aarvizu@memorialcare.org