1st Year Assignments

Pediatric Day Program: National Jewish


Fellows are assigned to this rotation for 4 months of the first year. Pediatric patients with severe allergic, pulmonary, and immune disorders are admitted to this service for in-depth multi-disciplinary team evaluations. Fellows are primary care providers for these patients, under faculty attending supervision. The disease severity and complexity of the patients admitted to this program are similar to patients seen in an inpatient setting, and essentially all patients require overnight hospitalization at National Jewish on some nights, although some do not sleep at the hospital on all nights of their admission.

This rotation provides a primary patient base for the understanding of the diagnosis, treatment, and pathophysiology of, but not limited to: 1) severe chronic refractory asthma, its detailed differential diagnosis, recognition and evaluation of the iatrogenic aspects of its management, and alternative treatments; 2) severe allergic disease including chronic rhinosinusitis, nasal polyposis, food allergy, including the use of double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenges, anaphylaxis, atopic dermatitis, urticaria, allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, eosinophilia, and drug allergy; 3) immunodeficiency diseases with autoimmune features; and (4) pediatric pulmonary diseases, such as chronic pneumonias and pneumonitis, aspiration, bronchiolitis, bronchitis, congenital pulmonary anomalies, obstructive pulmonary disease, interstitial lung disease, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, cystic fibrosis, vocal cord dysfunction, bronchiectasis, and immotile cilia syndrome. This rotation should also provide a familiarization with the psychosocial effects of chronic disease on the child, adolescent, and family. The development of specific allergy & immunology specialist clinical skills, such as patient education, home management strategies and interacting with the referring physicians and tertiary consultants, will be a focus of these months.

MOD (Medical Officer of the Day): National Jewish

Fellows are assigned to this rotation for 4 months of the first year. Acutely ill pediatric patients with allergic, respiratory and immune disorders are seen by the Fellow as the primary care provider in an acute care unit, under faculty attending supervision. Most of the pediatric patients seen in triage and admitted have exacerbations of their asthmatic, respiratory, allergic and/or immune disorder(s) that benefit from specialty care. Many of the patients evaluated in triage require hospitalization at National Jewish, and continue to be followed by the admitting Fellow and attending. The basic application of rhinolaryngoscopy and bronchoscopy will also be addressed during this rotation. Expertise in methods and interpretation of pulmonary function testing, pH probe studies for gastroesophageal reflux, and various allergen, food and airway provocation challenges will be acquired. MOD / Triage and Day Program Fellows sometimes cross-over in order to continue to learn through specialty patient care even when the patient volume in their primary assignments may be low.