Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine Training

Education Overview

Members of the Division participate in a broad range of teaching activities for medical students, medical residents, postdoctoral fellows and the continuing medical education of physician staff. Members of the Division have been recognized by Harvard Medical School as well as national organizations as outstanding teachers, and play leadership roles in advancing medical education.

National and International

Members of the Division frequently lecture at national meetings, serve as visiting professors, and are invited speakers at hospitals throughout New England. Dr. Schwartzstein has organized and taught several postgraduate courses for the American Thoracic Society as well as IPOKRaTES, an organization that brings leading international medical educators to Europe to train students and physicians. Dr. Schwartzstein's textbook, "Respiratory Physiology: A Clinical Approach," breaks new ground by utilizing interactive animations and computer simulations to enhance the understanding of difficult physiological concepts. The book has received the prestigious Frank Netter Award for contributions to medical education.

Teaching at Harvard Medical School

The Division continues to actively contribute to the educational mission of the BIDMC and Harvard Medical School (HMS). All members of the Division participate in HMS lectures, precept medical students and lead small group discussions. In addition, select members of the Division provide leadership roles in organizing and instructing HMS courses such as Integrated Human Physiology (Richard Schwartzstein, MD), Human Systems: Respiratory Pathophysiology (David Roberts, M.D.), and Patient-Doctor II (Ronald Silvestri, MD).

Current Division members maintain a longstanding tradition for excellence in teaching as identified by HMS, with numerous teaching awards including HMS Excellence in Teaching Award (Richard Schwartzstein, MD for 2001, 2004, and 2005 and David Roberts, MD in 2006), and the S. Robert Stone Award for Excellence in Teaching (Drs. Silvestri, Schwartzstein, and Roberts).

Richard Schwartzstein, MD also serves as Faculty Associate Dean for Medical Education at HMS, and both he and Dr. Roberts are actively involved in directing the new longitudinal third-year student curriculum, the Principal Clinical Experience, at BIDMC. Both Dr. Schwartzstein and Dr. Roberts are graduates of the Rabkin Fellowship in Medical Education. Dr. Schwartzstein and Dr. Silvestri are also graduates of the Macy Foundation Fellowship.

Teaching at BIDMC

The Division members contribute to the educational mission of BIDMC, teaching Medical Residents through participation in Firm Conferences, didactic lectures to the general housestaff, teaching rounds during Pulmonary consultation service, and teaching rounds during MICU service. Division members have also been recognized for excellence in teaching at BIDMC with numerous awards including S. Robert Stone Teaching Award for Excellence in Teaching (Drs. Silvestri, Schwartzstein, and Roberts), and Dr. Clardy, ICU teaching award, Dr. Schwartzstein (Robert C. Moellering award).

In addition, to his clinical responsibilities within the Division, Richard Schwartzstein, MD also serves as the Vice President for Education at BIDMC, and as the Executive Director of the Shapiro Institute for Education and Research. Dr. David Roberts is the Assistant Director of the Shapiro Institute for Education and Research and is the director of Undergraduate Medical Education at BIDMC.

Postdoctoral Fellowship Programs

Division members are all actively engaged in and dedicated to the training of the next generation of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep physicians. Division members have also been recognized for excellence in teaching within the Harvard Fellowship with awards including Teacher of the Year (Dr. Roberts 2005).

Three postdoctoral training opportunities are available through the Division, including:

• Combined HMS Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowship
• Interventional Pulmonary Fellowship
• Sleep Medicine Fellowship

Faculty Education / CME Courses

• Medical Thoracoscopy and other Procedures in the Management of Pleural Disorders
• Advanced Diagnostic Bronchoscopy
• Clinical Physiology Course at American Thoracic Society
• Internal Medicine Update: Focus on Pulmonary Diseases

(Please visit Harvard Medical School's Continuing Medical Education website for detailed course information and registration)

Faculty Education Conferences

• Critical Care M&M Conference (twice monthly)
• Pulmonary Radiology Clinical Case Conference (twice monthly)
• Critical Care Journal Club (twice monthly)
• Pulmonary Journal Club (twice monthly)
• Multidisciplinary Thoracic Oncology Conference (weekly)
• Ambulatory Pulmonary Medicine Case Conference (weekly)

Patient Education Projects

On-line, interactive teaching tool for patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension supported by the Joan Lamphier Memorial Fund (David Roberts, MD).