Pulmonary & Critical Care Clinical Fellowship

Our fellowship program offers rigorous training in clinical pulmonary and critical care medicine, along with cutting-edge research in basic lung biology and translational or clinical investigation. The program is fully accredited by the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and spans three years. Extended training beyond three years is available for those pursuing academic careers focused on research.

Program Structure

The first year is dedicated to clinical training, covering both inpatient and outpatient pulmonary medicine and intensive care. Fellows receive extensive training in procedures such as bronchoscopy, thoracentesis, chest tube placement, airway management, right heart catheterization, ECMO management and pulmonary function test interpretation. The second year focuses on original research, conducted under the guidance of a faculty mentor and research advisers. The third year combines continued research and advanced clinical training tailored to the fellow’s career goals. Throughout the fellowship, each fellow maintains a continuity outpatient clinic for a half-day per week. 

Educational Settings

The training program is based at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and the Jesse Brown Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center. 

• Northwestern Memorial Hospital is the primary site for clinical training. It offers 900 beds, 150 of which are intensive care unit (ICU) beds, and features state-of-the-art programs across medical and surgical specialties.
• The Jesse Brown VA Medical Center is a 250-bed facility with 24 ICU beds.
• Research laboratories for the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine are housed in the Louis A. Simpson and Kimberly K. Querrey Biomedical Research Center.

Didactic Program

The educational curriculum includes a comprehensive set of didactic sessions, such as pulmonary and MICU morning report, journal club, M&M, grand rounds, ICU quality outcomes, research conferences and subspecialty-specific sessions such as ECMO and interstitial lung disease. The monthly faculty-led Academic Half Day provides an interactive environment where all fellows are relieved from clinical duties to engage in core specialty topics. Fellows also have protected time to attend and present at clinical and research conferences throughout their training.

Simulation Training

Simulation training is an integral part of the fellowship and includes sessions on bronchoscopy, mechanical ventilation, point-of-care ultrasound, thoracentesis, chest tube placement, airway management and massive hemoptysis. Simulation is also used for communication skills and team training. Fellows attend hands-on formal courses outside of the institution as well. Learn about the Northwestern Simulation Center.

Education Pathways, Certificate Programs & Degrees

To broaden the educational experience of our fellows, we also offer clinical scholar programs in bioethics, global health, health equity and advocacy and medical education. Learn more on the McGaw website. 

We support fellows who wish to pursue advanced degrees, including:

• Master of Science in Clinical Investigation
• Master of Science in Health Services and Outcomes Research
• Master of Science in Health and Biomedical Informatics.

Finally, we offer structured training in quality improvement through the Academy for Quality and Safety Improvement.

 

Our training program works to create individualized mentorship and career development plans aligned to each fellow's scholarly interests and professional goals. This process begins during the first year of fellowship and is guided by frequent meetings with the fellowship's program director.

For physician-scientists, the Division of Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine is home to numerous grant-funded research programs in both basic investigation in lung biology and translational/patient-oriented research. Interested fellows are encouraged to join our Lung Sciences Training Program, which provides multifaceted longitudinal research training. 

For fellows interested in quality improvement, structured training is available through the Academy for Quality and Safety Improvement. Fellows pursuing careers in medical education are encouraged to complete the Feinberg Academy of Medical Educators' Medical Education Certificate Program and take advantage of the wide range of teaching opportunities available through the Feinberg School of Medicine.

All fellows are expected to be active members of both the local and national scientific community. This includes presentations at divisional academic conferences, participation in national meetings and publication of manuscripts in the peer-reviewed scientific literature.

We also offer robust resources and mentorship opportunities designed to help fellows excel as physician-scientists through our Starzl Academy.

Approximately 75 percent of clinical training occurs at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, 20 to 25 percent at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center and up to 5 percent at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. The patient populations at these institutions differ in demographics and clinical problems, providing fellows with a diverse and comprehensive training experience:

• At least four weeks on an Interventional Pulmonary/Chest Procedure Service rotation.
• Fellows rotate through multiple outpatient subspecialty clinics including asthma, COPD, cystic fibrosis, pulmonary hypertension, interstitial lung disease, lung cancer, sarcoidosis, sleep medicine, neuromuscular Disease/non-invasive ventilation, occupational lung disease and lung transplantation.
• Active participation in a busy lung transplant program.
• Consultative care for patients receiving V-V ECMO.
• Hands-on experience in interpreting pulmonary function tests.
• In-house night coverage of the MICU with fellows and/or faculty, with limited mandatory night shifts. Additional night shifts are available at a competitive moonlighting rate. Except for four weeks at the VA, fellows do not take call from home.

Throughout the three-year program, fellows maintain continuity clinics at both Northwestern and the Jesse Brown VA, attending each clinic for a half-day every other week.

Applicants for fellowship must be enrolled in or have completed training in an ACGME-accredited internal medicine residency training program. Internal medicine residency training must be completed successfully prior to appointment in the fellowship training program.

The fellowship program provides combined training in pulmonary and critical care medicine, leading to eligibility for American Board of Internal Medicine certification in Pulmonary Disease and in Critical Care Medicine. We do not offer single-specialty training in only pulmonary disease or only critical care medicine.

The ECFMG sponsors J-1 visa holders at the Department of State where McGaw is the sponsoring institution, as long as the program is ACGME-accredited. Fees for J-1 visas are the responsibility of the applicant, not the program.

Applications to the Northwestern Pulmonary Disease & Critical Care Medicine Fellowship are accepted exclusively through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS). To apply, please visit the ERAS website and follow the directions for Fellowship Applicants. Applications and related documents submitted without the use of ERAS will not be considered.

The deadline for receipt of applications for training beginning in July 2026 (positions to be filled in the December 2025 Match) is July 16.

The Northwestern Fellowship Program participates in the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) Medical Specialties Matching Program. Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine fellowship applicants must register with National Resident Matching Program and agree to the terms of the NRMP Match.

To complete your application, the following documents are required:

• A letter of recommendation from your Internal Medicine residency Program director or department chairperson.
• At least two (but not more than four) additional letters of recommendation. These should be from clinical faculty and/or research mentors who know you and your work well. Ideally, at least one letter should be from a senior member of the faculty in pulmonary and critical care medicine at your institution.
• A personal statement describing who you are, why you have chosen to pursue training in pulmonary and critical care medicine and your current thoughts about your future career path.
• Your curriculum vitae.
• Original reports of your USMLE (or COMLEX) scores.
• Medical school dean’s letter and medical school transcripts.

Applicants selected for interview will be invited by email. Interviews for positions to be filled in the December 2025 Match will be conducted in September and October 2025.