Critical Care Fellowship

We offer select positions for dedicated clinical training in Critical Care Medicine. Two courses of study are offered depending on the level of experience of an incoming fellow.

This is unpublished

Training options

One Year Option

A one year program is geared towards physicians who have completed or plan to complete an American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) fellowship in another sub-specialty such as Nephrology, Infectious Disease, or Cardiology. When combined with the completion of another fellowship program, this twelve-month clinical experience confers eligibility to sit for the Critical Care Medicine board examination. 

Two Year Option

A two-year fellowship is available to graduates of either an Internal Medicine or Emergency Medicine residency who have not completed another ABIM fellowship. An extended program is required for such physicians to sit for the Critical Care Medicine board examination. 

Program Highlights

  • A truly multidisciplinary critical care experience, with core rotations covering all aspects of medical, surgical, neurological, and cardiac critical care at three different institutions and a broad array of elective rotations
  • The opportunity to work under the supervision of attending physicians from multiple training backgrounds including pulmonary and critical care, anesthesia critical care, trauma critical care and emergency medicine critical care.
  • Multi-institutional experience with a diverse patient population from a region spanning five states (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho).
  • In-depth exposure to both foundational critical care concepts, such as cardiovascular and respiratory physiology, and cutting-edge technology such as ECMO and mechanical circulatory support.
  • Opportunities not only for honing clinical skills, but for professional and academic development via structured mentorship and curricula.
  • The opportunity to work and play in a truly beautiful area of the country with easy access to leisure activities in the mountains and on the water.

Curriculum

Clinical Curriculum

Critical Care fellows rotate through a broad mix of ICUs within the UW system in a schedule that it is integrated with the Pulmonary and Critical Care and Anesthesiology Critical Care fellowships.

Fellows split their time between three Seattle clinical sites: the University of Washington Medical Center, Harborview Medical Center, and the Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System, with the majority of time spent at Harborview Medical Center and the University of Washington Medical Center.

Services fellows will rotate on include:

  • University of Washington Medical Center
    Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU), Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU), Cardiothoracic ICU (CT ICU), and the Oncology-Bone Marrow Transplant Intensive Care Unit
  • Harborview Medical Center
    Neurocritical Care Service (NCCS), Trauma/Surgical Intensive Care Unit (TICU), and the Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU)
  • Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System
    Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU)

Electives

Electives are available in chest radiology, cardiac critical care, echocardiography, extracorporeal life support, pulmonary medicine, ultrasound, airway management, nephrology, infectious disease, prehospital critical care, palliative care, and research/quality improvement. Fellows also have opportunities to develop new elective rotations based on their interests.

Sample Schedule

Year One* Year Two**
UWMC Cardiothoracic ICU HMC Neurocritical  Care Service
UWMC Oncology-BMT ICU HMC Medical ICU
UWMC Medical ICU HMC Trauma/Surgical ICU
HMC Medical ICU VA Medical ICU
UWMC Cardiac ICU UWMC Surgical ICU
HMC Trauma/Surgical ICU UWMC Cardiothoracic ICU
Elective (6 months) Elective (6 months)

* 1-year fellows will complete 9 months of critical care rotations and 3 months of electives
** Completed by 2-year fellows only. 

Didactic Curriculum

A number of didactic opportunities are available in the course of a Critical Care fellow's training. Fellows present cases (in rotation with Pulmonary and Critical Care and Anesthesiology Critical Care fellows) to faculty discussants at the weekly Seattle Area Chest Grand Rounds, which is one of the UW health system’s most popular conferences. Weekly core content lectures on a variety of topics relevant to Critical Care Medicine follow. Conference time is protected for fellows, unless extreme clinical circumstances mandate otherwise.

A variety of other educational opportunities occur at the various teaching sites. These can include:

  • Daily teaching rounds in all ICUs (regularly led by either the fellow or attending physician)
  • Harborview’s weekly Multidisciplinary ICU Journal Club
  • UWMC's weekly ICU conference
  • The Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine's monthly Journal Club
  • Seattle Resuscitation Grand Rounds
  • A longitudinal point-of-care ultrasound curriculum
  • Crisis Leadership training via simulation
  • Mini-sabbaticals, two 1-week blocks where fellows come together for didactics, workshops, and professional development time

Academic Opportunities and Professional Development

Abundant opportunities exist for scholarly activity. Mentoring committees are established for fellows based on their interests and future goals to provide guidance on scholarly work, research or educational projects, and career planning. Fellows also participate in a structured quarterly professional development lecture series. Fellows will be expected to complete at least one substantial scholarly project.

How to Apply

All applications are processed through Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS).

We will accept applications during the 2024 ERAS cycle for positions to start July 1, 2025.

Your ERAS application must include:  

  • Completed application form
  • Personal statement addressing career objectives
  • 3 letters of recommendation

All application materials, including all support letters, must be submitted by August 1.

Commitment to Inclusion and Diversity

The Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. We strongly encourage applicants from diverse backgrounds as we believe that our faculty and fellows should reflect the incredible diversity of the patients we care for. 

The Department of Medicine has more information about diversity for our faculty, fellows, and residents. Fellows are invited to serve on the Department of Medicine Diversity Council and the Network of Underrepresented Residents and Fellows.

Interviews

In alignment with the Association of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Program Directors (APCCMPD), our national professional society, and to ensure a uniform interview process that is equitable to all applicants, our fellowship interviews for the applicants in 2024-2025 will be held exclusively virtually. We will not offer in-person site visits. The full recommendation is available here.
 
Fellowship applicant interviews will occur virtually late August through October and are filled on a rolling basis. Positions will be offered through the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP) using the program code: 1918142F0.