Conferences

Each academic year starts off with a “Boot Camp” for all incoming fellows. This “Boot Camp” is held during the first 2 weeks of July and is comprised of both lectures and hands-on simulations. Recurring conferences will then continue the first week of August.

All conferences are held from 7:30AM – 8:30AM via Zoom unless stated otherwise. Physiology conferences, held on Wednesdays, are typically held in-person unless stated otherwise.

The following conferences are dedicated to being held on Tuesday mornings:

1. Didactics - These conferences are in-depth discussions related to specific Pulmonary and Critical Care subjects. The division of Pulmonary and Critical Care faculty, faculty from other divisions, and visiting educators (ideally 3-6 every year) are among the speakers. Physiology, pathology, statistics, immunology, and particular clinical entities are among the topics that will be presented.
2. Clinical Case Conference - Cases are presented by the fellow during this twice monthly clinical conference, one by a Pulmonary fellow and one by a Critical Care fellow. Fellows are required to give an overview of the patient's history, highlight significant physical examination and laboratory findings, and prepare a discussion of the particulars of the case or a literature review on crucial issues. Cases should be either diagnostic conflicts or situations where the approach to treatment is in question. If the case involves a diagnostic conflict, the audience should be asked for diagnostic and therapeutic recommendations whilst the case is presented as an unknown. A larger discussion is better. This conference will include pathology, physiology, and clinical management techniques.
3. Journal Club - At each of these conferences, two journal articles are presented once. The attending physicians and fellows alternate picking the article to be presented. The fellows must be able to present the paper's background, objectives, methodology, findings, conclusions, and critique. Basic science- or clinical-based articles should be reviewed at this conference. The presenter's objectives are to build an awareness of the scientific process and to develop and enhance analytical abilities.
4. Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) Conferences - The chief fellow is responsible for developing a rotating schedule for which fellows will present at each conference. The designated fellow will pose a clinical-related question. The fellow will then conduct evidenced-based research to see what data are available for the diagnosis or treatment of the issue at hand. After that, the fellow will provide that information together with an assessment of the reliability of the data used to support those findings.
5. Quality/Morbidity & Mortality Review Conference – This conference is held monthly with the goal of reviewing cases with unexpected or unfavorable outcomes and considering what may have been done differently to achieve a more favorable outcome. Each session will have a presentation from two fellows.

The following conferences are dedicated to being held on Wednesday mornings:

1. Pulmonary Pathology Conference – This conference is held on the first Wednesday of each month. This will be a combined conference involving pathology, thoracic surgery, radiology, and pulmonary/critical care. The thoracic surgery resident and Pulmonary/Critical Care PGY-6 fellow will each present a case. The PGY-6 fellow will email or call Dr. Curtiss to meet and review their cases for the pulmonary/path conference. Radiology or Dr. Curtiss may also reach out with additional interesting cases to be presented. The PGY-6 fellow will provide a brief history and physical examination, radiographs will be reviewed, and then Dr. Curtiss will present the pathology of the case. There will be an extensive discussion about the outcome of the fellow's case presented. PGY-6 fellows will share responsibility for this conference.
2. Imaging – Fellow led imaging review with subspecialized chest radiologist for both CTS and X-rays.
3. ILD-MDT – Interstitial lung disease multidisciplinary conference is a multispecialty case conference and discussion of interstitial lung disease including radiology, rheumatology, pathology, and pulmonary.
4. Physiology – Small group, reverse classroom interactive conference, who meets with pulmonary physiology conference. Includes discussions on ventilation and perfusions, Cardio-Pulmonary Exercise Testing, Cardio-Pulmonary Hemodynamics, and Pulmonary Function Testing
5. Research – Quarterly research meeting reviewing ongoing research projects and proposals with feedback led by our clinical research attending.
6. POCUS – Quarterly in person, reverse classroom interactive POCUS image and literature review led by expert POCUS faculty within the division.