Pulmonary Medicine Fellowship Program, Orlando
Program Overview
The Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine Fellowship at ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Children’s Hospital, Florida (NCHFL) is a three-year ACGME-accredited program for graduates of pediatric medicine residencies. NCHFL is a state-of-the-art, freestanding, tertiary care facility for children. The hospital is part of ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Children’s, a nonprofit organization funded by the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Foundation. The hospital is currently operating 135 inpatient beds serving pediatric patients from birth to 18 years. There are more than 180 pediatric medical and surgical faculty physicians at NCHFL caring for an incredibly medically vulnerable and diverse patient population across Central Florida. In addition, there are 36 categorical pediatric residents invested in the care of our patients.
The pediatric pulmonology program is an integral part of the core pediatric residency training program, offering clinical and didactic education that focuses on multidisciplinary care of patients in the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ health system. The pulmonary fellows will have exceptional educational experiences, as they will be taking care of children with diverse pediatric pulmonary diseases in the inpatient and outpatient setting. These pediatric diseases include asthma, cystic fibrosis, chronic lung disease of prematurity, congenital lung abnormalities, airway abnormalities, interstitial lung diseases, neuromuscular diseases, ventilator dependency and sleep-related breathing disorders. The pulmonary faculty serve as role models of clinical excellence, compassion and professionalism, with a commitment to scholarly pursuits for all trainees and students. The faculty provide extensive clinical training in a highly complex and acute environment, as well as exposure to interpretation of routine pulmonary function tests, sleep studies, sweat tests, exercise stress tests, tests of ventilatory muscle strength and control, bronchoprovocation tests and flexible fiberoptic bronchoscopies. In addition, there is numerous research and quality improvement opportunities that will enable fellows to build a successful academic career.
Mission and Aims
Mission
The Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine fellowship Program’s mission is to train caring, compassionate pediatric pulmonary medicine physicians who are: competent to provide the highest level of pediatric medical care for neonates, infants, children and adolescents; advocates for children and their families in terms of social, emotional and medical needs; educated to address the social determinants of health for children; and have the requisite skills and scientific background to pursue meaningful careers in academic, research or clinical pediatric pulmonary medicine.
Aims
To achieve our mission, the program aims to:
- Recruit highly qualified physicians to an academic Pediatric Fellowship program that embraces diversity, inclusion and equity as its core values.
- Foster critical thinking based on medical and scientific data, and provide the educational tools required for the fellows to acquire knowledge for expertise in their subspecialty field.
- Provide a curriculum of fundamental information concerning pediatric pulmonary medicine, which allows the fellow to develop deep medical knowledge, patient care skills and expertise in pediatric pulmonary medicine.
- Supervise, monitor and facilitate the educational process to assure fellows are well prepared to achieve their professional goals, including but not limited to, proficient subspecialty clinical practice, educational leadership opportunities and contribution to meaningful scholarship at the completion of their fellowship training.
- Provide robust education regarding the social determinants of children's health to ensure that fellows recognize the broad influence of social and economic disparities on health and health care policy in their daily clinical practice, educational opportunities and scholarship portfolios.
- Recruit high-caliber pediatric academic faculty physicians who have the knowledge and expertise to provide a robust clinical learning environment with their programmatic niches and scholarship portfolios.
- Curriculum
- Salary & Benefits
- Location & Living
- Apply
Our Fellowship Program
The 3-year program is designed to meet ACGME training requirements in pediatric pulmonary medicine and research, while allowing fellows to adapt specific training based on career goals.
Core Clinical Rotations:
Pediatric Pulmonary Inpatient Service: Fellows are required to complete 52 weeks (13 EUs) of the pediatric inservice rotation over the 3-year fellowship. The inpatient rotation includes the patients admitted to the pulmonary service and the pulmonary inpatient consult service. In addition, the rotation includes pulmonary fellow weekly continuity clinic, cystic fibrosis clinic, ambulatory and inpatient flexible bronchoscopies.
Pediatric Intensive Care Unit: Fellows are required to complete 4 weeks (1EU) of the pediatric intensive care unit rotation focused on the care of infants, children and adolescents with acute and chronic respiratory failure, invasive and noninvasive mechanical ventilation and airway clearance strategies, and treatment of chronic pulmonary disease.
Pediatric Pulmonary Ambulatory Rotation: Fellows are required to complete 20 weeks (5 EUs) of pediatric pulmonary specialty clinics. The pulmonary ambulatory rotation will include weekly pulmonary fellow continuity clinic, pulmonary neuromuscular clinic, asthma and chronically ventilated patients, sleep medicine clinic, and cystic fibrosis newborn and infant clinic. Additionally, the rotation will include monthly experiences in pediatric sickle cell disease and pulmonary hypertension clinic.
Individualized Curriculum (IC): Fellows are granted 8 weeks (2 EUs) for individualized curriculum. Blocks can be divided into 2- to 4-week educational experiences based on the structure of the rotation itself +/- the fellow’s individual goals and preferences.
- Neonatal Intensive Care unit — Inpatient
- Pediatric AIR elective (Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology)
- Advanced Sleep Medicine
- Pediatric Otolaryngology
- Pediatric Radiology
- Pediatric Infectious Disease
- Neurology/Neuromuscular — Inpatient/Outpatient
- Cardiology — Inpatient/Outpatient
Research and Scholarship: Fellows are required to complete 60 weeks (15 EUs) dedicated to scholarly activity, including the development of requisite skills for their scholarly work, project development, implementation and completion, with presentation of results to the Scholarship Oversight Committee and the Pulmonary Division. Fellows are encouraged to present their work at national meetings and submit a manuscript by the end of their fellowship.
Salary & Benefits
Salary
- PGY 4: $78,837.02
- PGY 5: $81,552.83
- PGY 6: $84,273.88
Benefits
- $1,000 educational stipend
- Research funds for poster presentations
- 4 weeks of vacation per year
- Paid training medical license and fingerprinting fees
- Access to Tend Health, a confidential mental health services platform with no billing of insurance or out-of-pocket expenses
- Health insurance
- Dental insurance
- Vision insurance
- Life and AD&D insurance
- Voluntary insurance plans
- Paid short-term disability insurance
- Long term disability
- Malpractice insurance
- Medical and dependent flexible spending accounts
- 6 weeks paid parental leave
- On-site gym
- Free parking
- Retirement plans
About Our Hospital in Florida
ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Children’s Hospital, Florida (NCHFL) is a state-of-the-art freestanding pediatric tertiary care facility located in Orlando’s Lake Nona Medical City. The hospital is part of ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Children’s and funded by the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Foundation. The hospital is currently operating 130 inpatient beds serving pediatric patients from birth to 18 years as well as a 20 bed Emergency Department that served over 40,000 visits during the past academic year. The institution has more than 180 pediatric medical and surgical faculty physicians caring for an incredibly vulnerable and diverse patient population from across central Florida.
As an institution, NCHFL has received national recognition for its quality, safety and technology infrastructure as evidenced by receiving the Leapfrog Group Award 5 times since opening its doors. Furthermore, NCHFL has made the "Most Wired" list on multiple occasions and has been designated as a Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Stage 7 organization, which acknowledges the highest level of achievement awarded to an organization in regard to improving patient safety, increasing patient satisfaction, support of the clinical teams and ensuring data security.
Virtual Tour of ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Children's Hospital, Florida
Get a sense of what it's like at our amazing hospital.
Living in Orlando’s Lake Nona Medical City
Just steps from the hospital doors, you’ll discover the beautiful Lake Nona Town Center, which serves as the hub of Lake Nona. As a regional shopping and entertainment destination, Lake Nona Town Center has a distinct pulse where residents and visitors gather to socialize and unwind. It serves as the perfect fit for both young single professionals and families alike. The Town Center features boutiques, hotels, public art and event venues to inspire and delight. This modern-day entertainment destination includes the Lake Nona Wave Hotel — the world’s most technologically-advanced hotel, the Lake Nona Performance Club, world-renowned art collection on display in the Lake Nona Sculpture Garden, multiple office buildings, Courtyard by Marriott® and Residence Inn, parking garages defined by iconic art installations, Boxi Park at Lake Nona, Chroma Modern Bar + Kitchen, Park Pizza & Brewing Co., Bosphorous Turkish Cuisine, Ivory Salon and The Master Barber Experience and more.
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is the most-visited city in the nation. It’s the home of Walt Disney World®, Universal Studios, SeaWorld® Orlando, Disney Springs and Downtown OrlandoÌý— all accessible by car within 30 minutes of NCHFL.
Orlando is much more than a tourist destination for theme parks. It is exploding with art and culture. The hosts ballet, opera, comedy, musicals, jazz and theater. There is dining ranging from James Beard award-winning chefs preparing meals for a sophisticated palate to the food truck scene with adventurous culinary delights. Orlando is home to the Orlando Magic, Orlando City Soccer Club, and hosts many national and international sporting competitions. The Orlando Museum of Art tops the list of museums in the area, but there are photography, folk art and sculpture exhibitions throughout the region.
These are just a few of the reasons that Forbes and U.S. News & World Report have ranked it among the top cities to live. Among the varied communities, you’ll find everything from devoutly religious to casually spiritual. Also, Orlando is one of the fastest growing Spanish-speaking cities in America. There’s also celebration and support of the LGBTQ community, with plenty of events, like Gay Days at Disney World.
There is no state income tax in Florida. For more data about living in Orlando, such as current details on housing costs and school rankings, go to
NCHFL is conveniently located 7 miles from Orlando International Airport. In less than 1 hour, you can escape to Cocoa Beach, embark on a cruise from Port Canaveral, or launch a boat in one of Central Florida’s many nature-rich lakes. The day trips described on Florida Backroads Travel can all be reached within 100 miles. View them at your leisure at .
How to Apply
Electronic Residency Application Service® (ERAS®)
Our program accepts applications through ERAS according to the ERAS Fellowship Application Timeline. Applicants may begin submitting applications on July 3, 2024. We will continue to review completed applications that are submitted prior to October 1, 2024.
Deadline for Application Consideration: October 1, 2024
Training Begins: July 1, 2025
Application Requirements
A completed application consists of the following:
- ERAS application
- Curriculum vitae
- One (1) page personal statement
- Current passport-sized photograph
- Three (3) letters of recommendation
- USMLE or COMPLEX scores
- ECFMG and/or TOEFL if applicable
Still have questions about applying?
Michelle Pizarro (she/her/hers)
GME Coordinator
ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Children's Health, Orlando
michelle.pizarro@nemours.org
Giselle Y. Guerrero, MD
Fellowship Program Director
ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Children's Health, Orlando
giselle.guerrero@nemours.org
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