Pulmonary/Critical Care Fellowship
Loma Linda University Medical Center (LLUMC)


Loma Linda University's Pulmonary/Critical Care Program uses two major teaching hospitals: Loma Linda University Medical Center and Jerry L. Pettis Memorial VA Medical Center (veterans hospital). A fully accredited medical school, Loma Linda graduates approximately 140 medical students each year, and approximately 80 residents receive training in the internal medicine department. The Medical Center, located 60 miles east of Los Angeles in a rapidly growing part of Southern California, serves San Bernardino and Riverside counties, including Palm Springs. Known as the greater Inland Empire, the area has a population of about seven million people. Loma Linda University is the major teaching and referral hospital for this area.

Pulmonary/critical care fellows spend one-third of their fellowship time at Loma Linda University Medical Center and two-thirds at the Veterans Hospital, a distance of less than one mile from LLUMC. These hospitals altogether account for over 700 beds. The pulmonary service directs medical intensive care units at both hospitals.

The pulmonary/critical care fellowship training program includes intensive experience in all procedures relevant to the fields of pulmonary and critical care medicine including pulmonary function and exercise testing, flexible bronchoscopy, placement of Swan-Ganz catheters and arterial lines, transthoracic needle biopsies, pleural biopsies, and thoracostomies. Outpatient pulmonary clinic experience continues throughout the fellowship to insure continuity of care.

The pulmonary/critical care division provides an excellent computer support system for respiratory care data acquisition in both the intensive care areas and the pulmonary and blood gas laboratories. Sophisticated pulmonary function testing including an exercise physiology laboratory is available in both hospitals. Fellows learn testing methodology, calibration of equipment, and quality control in both the routine and specialized pulmonary laboratory areas. An accredited sleep disorders center is directed by the pulmonary/critical care division and provides an opportunity for fellows to gain experience in sleep disorders medicine.

The pulmonary/critical care fellowship extends over a three-year period. During this time, approximately two years are devoted to clinical training and one year to basic or applied research. Assigned teaching responsibilities serve to prepare trainees for roles as clinical teachers. The program emphasizes the development of excellent consultative skills in pulmonary and critical care medicine by providing experience in the evaluation and management of a wide variety of problems common to the pulmonary/critical care specialty. A close working relationship between the faculty and trainees is maintained throughout the three-year program.