Internal Medicine Critical Care Fellowship

IM/CCM fellowship 2023 graduates

The Internal Medicine / Critical Care (IM/CCM) Fellowship is a two-year, ACGME-accredited program that has trained world-class intensivists for over 50 years.  As a part of the Multidisciplinary Critical Care Training Program (MCCTP) at UPMC, our fellows learn alongside faculty and peer fellows with specialty training in Internal Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Anesthesiology, Surgery, Neurology, and Neurosurgery in a highly integrated and collaborative environment.  Broad clinical experience, interactive workshops and simulation, and both synchronous and asynchronous learning are at the center of fellow education. However, our fellows also enjoy one of the most academically productive research organizations in the nation, and structured professional development designed to help our fellows become future leaders in Critical Care.

The IM/CCM fellowship offers 8-10 positions per year to those who have completed an ACGME or ACGME-I residency in either Internal Medicine or Emergency Medicine.  A one-year fellowship is available to Internal Medicine-trained applicants who have also completed a two- or three-year fellowship in an Internal Medicine subspecialty.  Integrated 3-year tracks in Infectious Diseases/Critical Care and Nephrology/Critical Care are also available through partnership between the IM/CCM program and the ID and Nephrology programs within Internal Medicine at UPMC.

Mission Statement

The Internal Medicine/Critical Care fellowship at UPMC is committed to providing superior clinical and academic training that delivers the highest quality care to critically ill and injured patients across the UPMC Health System, and that develops tomorrow’s leaders in Critical Care Medicine.  Our multidisciplinary and collaborative approach to research, education, patient safety, and quality is integral to this training and enhances the program’s ability to improve and innovate in each of these areas.  We seek to select and retain a diverse group of highly qualified candidates and foster their academic career advancement through broad clinical experience, scholarship, leadership opportunities, structured professional development, and robust mentorship.

Application, Interviews, and Match

APPLICATION

Applications for the fellowship are accepted through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) of the Association of American Medical Colleges. Please visit the ERAS website for application requirements, deadlines, ERAS tools and worksheets, and submission.

INTERVIEWS

Interviews occur virtually from August through October.  Highly qualified applicants will be contacted by our Office of Education starting in late July to schedule an interview date.

MATCH

The IM/CCM fellowship participates in the Medicine and Pediatrics Subspecialties Match through the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP).  Please visit the NRMP website for match requirements and pertinent dates.

Clinical Experience / Rotation Schedule

CLINICAL EXPERIENCE

UPMC features a combination of Medical, Surgical, and subspecialty ICUs – providing exposure to a high volume and a wide range of ICU pathology.  Our subspecialty ICUs are medical/surgical ICUs that focus on a specific area of critical care (e.g. Neurovascular, Cardiothoracic, Abdominal Transplant), giving fellows the opportunity to learn the nuances of care for these subspecialized populations.  Fellows work collaboratively within a multidisciplinary group of providers, including MCCTP fellows from various specialty training backgrounds.  The degree to which fellows learn from one another on a daily basis within the MCCTP is considered one of the greatest strengths of the program by faculty, fellows, and graduates alike.

Additional areas in which fellows receive hands-on experience and advanced instruction include:

  • ICU procedures including (but not limited to) endotracheal intubation, bronchoscopy, central venous catheterization, and chest-tube placement.  Fellows have primary airway management responsibility for their patients requiring intubation.  Our fellows also participate in advanced procedures including percutaneous tracheostomy and ECMO cannulation.
  • Mechanical support and advanced monitoring, including mechanical ventilation, extra-corporeal life support, intracranial neurological monitoring, and point-of-care ultrasound
  • Communication and team leadership skills, including patient and family interactions, end-of-life care, and collaborative team management.

CLINICAL ROTATIONS

YEAR 1

Year 1 is divided into 13, four-week blocks. There is a predominance of ICU time complemented with elective and scholarly time to pursue other interests.  Fellows qualifying for a 1-year fellowship program have their rotations individualized to meet training requirements and to accommodate specific preferences. A typical schedule includes:

YEAR 2

The goal of year 2 is to achieve mastery of critical care skills and knowledge as well as academic development and expansion of leadership skills. Clinical requirements are less however fellows are encouraged to spend additional clinical time with their mentor(s).  In this year, fellows are permitted to schedule their ICU clinical time by weeks, instead of by 4-week blocks.  This gives greater flexibility to pursue academic interests and provides a schedule that is more like an attending intensivist might have.  There are also numerous elective opportunities.  A typical schedule includes:

  • Mercy Medical/Surgical or Medical-Neuro ICUs – 1 block (4 weeks)
  • Subspecialty ICUs – 1 block (4 weeks)
  • Electives – 1-2 blocks
  • Research/Scholarly project/Professional Development – 9-10 blocks
Research, Scholarly Activities, & Education Highlights

RESEARCH and OTHER SCHOLARLY ACTIVITY

The research enterprise within the Department of Critical Care at UPMC is one of the most academically productive in the nation.  It features:

  • Over $30 million in external research grant funding, with over 15 active R01-level grants.
  • Two NIH T32 training grants in which several of our fellows and new graduates have participated.
  • Two research centers that incorporate over 30 faculty researchers conducting work from basic science to clinical trials and outcomes.
  • Broad multidisciplinary intramural and extramural collaboration nationally and internationally.
  • An outstanding research mentoring program for fellows and faculty, including 6 NIH career development awards (e.g., K23 and K08).

Other scholarly opportunities include:

  • A robust quality Improvement program that features fellow leadership and fellow-run QI projects.
  • Education research and curriculum development opportunities that include simulation and online learning.
  • Manuscript reviewer alongside our research faculty.
  • Learning the practical aspects of the design and implementation of clinical trials alongside the Multidisciplinary Acute Care Research Organization (MACRO) research group.

EDUCATION HIGHLIGHTS

  • Hands-on simulation and workshops teaching difficult airway management, central venous catheterization, chest tube placement, neurological device management, mechanical circulatory support, point-of-care ultrasound, and more.
  • A three-day Critical Care Communication Course providing state-of-the-art training in end-of-life discussions with family members.
  • Weekly interactive lectures in which trainees learn from our own renowned faculty, complemented by an online learning management system to help with asynchronous learning.
  • Weekly department-wide educational conferences including Grand Rounds featuring national and international experts in Critical Care, as well as fellow led Journal Club presentations Morbidity & Mortality conferences.
  • Critical Care Leadership and Professionalism Course – Essentially faculty development for fellows that is meant to facilitate the transition from fellowship to attending.  The course features job search and negotiation skills, research and teaching skills, understanding business and leadership in healthcare, and additional topics in professional advancement and personal well-being.
  • Annual Mitchell P. Fink Scholar Day for fellows to present their QI, education, and research projects.
Professional Development & Mentorship

Professional development is vital to success in medicine.  The IM/CCM program is proud of our professional development and mentorship program that features professional tracks, structured mentorship and mentor selection, and opportunities for advanced education.  Since its inception in 2011, our program has helped our graduates assume leadership positions in Critical Care, many right out of fellowship.

  • Professional track system– These tracks represent an important mechanism by which fellows, with the help of their mentors, guide their own advanced learning to become leaders in the field of Critical Care Medicine.  The Research, Medical Education, and Clinical Leadership tracks approximate the professional pathways that intensivists can pursue as attending physicians.  The program also has several specialty tracks that leverage the expertise in our department.  These specialty tracks offer advanced training and experience with Global Health, Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS), Critical Illness Recovery, Post-Cardiac Arrest management, and the CTICU/Mechanical Circulatory Support population.
  • Structured mentorship and mentor selection – Fellows reflect on their professional goals and then meet with several potential faculty mentors before mutually entering a mentor-mentee relationship with their primary faculty mentor.  Fellows further develop their mentorship team with the help of their primary mentor.
  • Advanced education opportunities and funding – Fellows can take advanced coursework towards a certificate or master’s degree.  Many of our fellows have taken such coursework and have graduated with a certificate or master’s degree in clinical research or medical education.  Others have taken coursework to prepare for an MBA program or other degree which they subsequently completed after graduation.  Funding is available from the fellowship to help our fellows invest further in themselves.
Contact

For inquiries about the Internal Medicine / Critical Care Fellowship program please contact Trisha Field, Program Coordinator and GME Sr. Department Manager.

Social Media

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