A Message from our Program Director
Thank you for considering Albany Medical Center for advanced training in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine. Our goal is to provide a well-rounded, individualized training experience that will prepare each fellow for a successful career in pulmonary and critical care medicine through excellence and expertise in the areas of clinical practice, research, and education.
The Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Fellowship is sponsored through Albany Medical Center and includes rotations at Albany Medical College and the Albany Stratton VA Medical Center in Albany. Albany Medical Center is the only tertiary care academic medical center in northeastern New York and therefore covers an expansive geographic area. The patient population served often has multiple complex medical conditions and significant racial and ethnic diversity.
The Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) has had dramatic growth to accommodate both the local and regional patient population. Additionally, the unit has cutting edge mechanical ventilators, ultrasounds, disposable and intubating bronchoscopes, and video laryngoscopes that enhance care and training. The hospital also has several other state-of-the-art adult intensive care units.
The hospital has over 760 beds, with most being managed by the Department of Medicine. The endoscopy suite can accommodate standard and advanced bronchoscopy as well as right heart catheterization and pleural procedures. Albany Medical Center has a dedicated chest radiology division which adds to the depth of care and education.
The outpatient office is adjacent to the hospital and includes a sophisticated pulmonary function and cardiopulmonary exercise lab. The office serves referral patients with diverse pulmonary disorders from rare lung diseases to common disorders including interstitial lung disease, pulmonary hypertension, sarcoidosis, atypical infections, cystic fibrosis, congenital and genetic lung disease and more. We also have an off-site sleep laboratory.
The training program at Albany Medical Center provides the fellow with a broad experience in all aspects of pulmonary and critical care. The unique position of being the only tertiary care academic medical center in northeastern New York allows the trainee exposure to rare and common pulmonary and critical care diseases as well as the procedures required to care for these patients. Additionally, as an academic setting Albany Medical College provides a fertile environment for research and educational pursuits.
We have a very robust educational platform with primary emphasis on fellows’ education. We have six to seven educational conferences in a week, including weekly advanced echocardiography conference, clinical case conference, journal clubs, didactics, board review sessions, and multidisciplinary conferences. In addition, we have a boot camp for the incoming fellows, where we train our new fellows for bronchoscopy, airway management, ultrasonography, and pleural procedures using the simulation laboratory and cadaver lab. I truly believe these educational conferences and teaching platforms prepare our fellows to strive in clinical medicine. We also have monthly research-in-progress meetings where we discuss ongoing studies, study design, and study results. These meetings prepare and orient our fellows to do leading edge research, and our fellows have produced numerous publications in major peer-reviewed pulmonary journals.
Our current and past fellows have excelled in clinical, procedural, educational, and scholarly activity. This is evidenced by their presentations, publications, and dedication to teaching and superb patient care. The board pass rate is 100 percent not only for pulmonary boards, but also for critical care echocardiography board. In the past, we have done exceptionally well in the Chest Challenge (top 10). Our graduating fellows have secured academic as well as private positions.
I would like to thank you for your interest in our fellowship program and we hope to see you soon.
Best regards,
Amit Chopra, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine
Director, Pulmonary/Critical Care Medicine Fellowship