Pulmonary Medicine Fellowship

Welcome to the RFUMS Pulmonary Medicine Fellowship web site.  We are pleased to state that our program has undergone extensive improvements over the past year such that we believe it to be among the finest 2-year pulmonary medicine fellowships available.  Our emphasis has been on practical scholarship and engaging our trainees with a variety of patients and clinical settings such that they will be very well prepared for an excellent and rewarding career in a community-based practice setting.

As detailed below, fellows practice and learn at our three sites, each having a specific, impactful, and everlasting effect on their developing into a wise and talented pulmonologist: 

Lovell Federal Health Care Center (FHCC): at this site, fellows have an extensive outpatient experience such that they learn how to become an effective, compassionate, and efficient pulmonologist

For the relatively modest size of the patient population, there is a disproportionately large and wide variety of diseases that fellows are exposed to.  This enhances learning, as it keeps learning new, fresh, and less routine. 

For instance, in addition to common causes of pulmonary ailments as COPD, asthma, and large variety of stages of lung cancer at presentation, fellows have recently managed a large variety of less common respiratory conditions as: 

This concentration of uncommon lung ailments in a modest sized patient population enables a “small but mighty” educational experience.  

Also at this site, fellows have an extensive pulmonary function laboratory learning experience that includes state of the art pulmonary function equipment including cardiopulmonary exercise testing.  A top-of-the-line bronchoscopy simulator is present in the fellows’ modern and pleasant workspace. 

Aurora Medical Center Kenosha (AMCK): at this site, fellows have a phenomenal procedural experience that is top notch compared with any pulmonary procedure suite in US.  It is anticipated that fellows will likely exceed 200 bronchoscopies during their fellowship, the majority of which will be done at AMCK.  Fellows will become adept at advanced procedures including endobronchial ultrasound and learn robotic bronchoscopy. The associate program of the fellowship, Dr. Hasnain Bawaadam, is a renown interventional pulmonologist who is deeply engaged in promoting fellows’ education.  A superb pulmonary procedure suite was recently built at this site, which enhances this one-of-a-kind learning experience.  

Mt. Sinai Hospital Chicago: at this site, fellows learn in a busy urban setting, including the MICU and inpatient pulmonary medicine service.  On the inpatient pulmonary service fellows are exposed to unique cases such as tuberculosis, lung abscesses, rare conditions as Swyer-James.  While on the MICU service fellows learn advanced management of critical issues as septic shock and ventilator management.  This site nicely rounds out the learning environment giving fellows an excellent exposure to a large variety of lung pathological processes seen in US health system.  

Richard Lenhardt, MD, MPH
Program Director, Pulmonary Medicine Fellowship