University of Kentucky College of Medicine (Bowling Green) Program

The University of Kentucky College of Medicine (Bowling Green) Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care Fellowship Program located at The Medical Center at Bowling Green is a prestigious three-year training program focused on providing comprehensive and rigorous education in pulmonary disease and critical care medicine. The program aims to prepare fellows to become proficient pulmonologists with the capability to function as independent consultants in various clinical settings.

Accredited by the American Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), the program offers nine training positions, ensuring an intimate learning environment where fellows gain significant hands-on experience and mentorship from expert faculty.

Program Overview

The fellowship encompasses a well-structured curriculum combined with direct patient care opportunities and didactic sessions. The training aims to enhance competencies across the six core areas defined by ACGME: Patient Care and Procedural Skills, Medical Knowledge, Professionalism, Interpersonal Communication, Practice-Based Learning, and Systems-Based Practice.

Fellows benefit from a state-of-the-art facility that provides comprehensive inpatient and outpatient care, exposing them to a diverse array of medical conditions. Regular feedback and performance evaluations form an essential part of the training process, thereby significantly contributing to the fellows' growth and readiness to undertake board certification examinations upon program completion.

Curriculum Structure

Fellowship Year 1

Duties include rotations in:

• Pulmonary – 2 months
• Intensive Care Unit – 3 months
• Night Float – 3 months
• Ambulatory/Commonwealth Regional Specialty Hospital (LTACH) – 1 month
• Elective – 1 month
• Procedures/Pulmonary Function Tests & Bronchoscopies – 1 month
• Procedures – 1 month

Fellowship Year 2

Rotating responsibilities increase with:

• Pulmonary – 3 months
• Intensive Care Unit – 3 months
• Night Float – 3 months
• Elective – 1 month
• Procedures – 1 month
• Ambulatory/Commonwealth Regional Specialty Hospital (LTACH) – 1 month

Fellowship Year 3

The final year encompasses:

• Pulmonary – 3 months
• Intensive Care Unit – 2 months
• Night Float – 2 months
• Ambulatory/Commonwealth Regional Specialty Hospital (LTACH) – 2 months
• Elective – 1 month
• Procedures – 1 month
• University of Kentucky Lung Transplant – 1 month

Clinical Research and Scholarly Activities

The program encourages fellows to engage in clinical research activities. They are provided opportunities to draft abstracts, create posters, and present findings at local, regional, and national conferences. Research projects must be meaningful to both the health system and the wider community, and are coordinated through the Western Kentucky Heart and Lung Research Foundation and Educational Trust.

Eligibility and Application Requirements

Applicants must fulfill specific criteria to be considered for the fellowship:

• Completion of an accredited medical school in the U.S. or Canada.
• Eligibility to obtain a Kentucky medical license.
• Completion of three years of ACGME-accredited internal medicine residency training.
• Successful completion of all Steps of the USMLE or the COMLEX equivalent.

Preferred qualifications include USMLE scores of 250 or higher on each step or COMLEX scores of 550 or higher.

Visa Support

The program supports J-1 visas for eligible international medical graduates, while it does not sponsor H-1B visas. Candidates must possess a current, valid ECFMG certificate at the time of application.

Interview Process

Those selected for interviews will be contacted via email. Interviews take place between September and October, accommodating a limited number of applicants on each day, ensuring personalized attention to each candidate.