Pediatric pulmonology fellowship

Spectrum Health Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital is the only free-standing children’s hospital in West Michigan. In partnership with Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, we are proud to offer an ACGME-accredited pediatric pulmonology fellowship. Our comprehensive three-year program trains physician-leaders who will incorporate cutting edge research and technology into their practice, to help kids breath better.

Dear colleague,

You’ll hear me say “help kids breath better” a lot. My partners and I take our job very seriously to ensure that the children in our community thrive. But just as seriously as we take our mission for children, we also hold dear our charge to thoughtfully care for you, our future fellows, who have made a commitment to extend your training. Your well-being, education and personal and professional growth are our top priorities. To that end, you will be fully supported and provided with the resources needed to design an educational experience that caters to your interests in the field of pulmonology. You will have the opportunity to develop clinical expertise given the wide variety of children we see with respiratory and sleep concerns. You will also gain research expertise as part of clinical, translational and/or basic science research opportunities. And I meant what I said in the video about specialists talking with each other; you will be intimately involved with all our multi-disciplinary programs, including our pediatric home ventilator program, neuromuscular diseases clinic, aerodigestive clinic, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation accredited cystic fibrosis center, severe asthma community initiative and more in the works.

Most importantly, who you are matters; our fellowship will be enriched because you share your unique talents, background and style with us, as we work together to help kids breath better. Thanks for your consideration and we look forward to meeting you.

Very sincerely,
Hovig

Hovig K. Artinian, MD, MAT, FAAP (he/him)
Program Director, Pediatric Pulmonology
Pediatric Pulmonology and Sleep Medicine, Spectrum Health
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Michigan State University College of Human Medicine

Applications to the Spectrum Health/Michigan State University Pediatric Pulmonology Fellowship are accepted exclusively through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS). We participate in the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) Medical Specialties Matching Program. Applicants must register with NRMP and agree to the terms of the NRMP match. All applicants must possess U.S. work authorization or be eligible for J-1 status.

Please contact Liliana Nielson, program coordinator, with any questions.

Program aim is to train clinical scholars with a strong emphasis on: mastery of the knowledge base, excellence in patient care, acquiring skills in teaching and mentoring, procedural expertise and clinical research.

Our fellowship trains physicians to assume a leadership role in the field of pediatric pulmonology. During the three years, extensive clinical training (approximately 15 months, concentrated mostly in the first year, including both inpatient and outpatient experiences) will be combined with world-class training in research, teaching, quality improvement and safety (approximately 18 months), culminating in qualifying for American Board of Pediatrics eligibility in pediatric pulmonology.

Our fellows will develop expertise in caring for a wide range of children with pediatric pulmonary diseases and conditions, ensuring that even a “straight-forward” case is considered from multiple angles and a thorough differential diagnosis developed. The children we serve include (but are not limited to) those with:

Our fellows learn collaboratively in our several multi-disciplinary clinics. Additionally, special electives are available with our ENT, Allergy, PICU, NICU and Palliative Care colleagues.

Flexible Fiberoptic Bronchoscopy: Our Fellows also spend extensive time learning flexible bronchoscopy technique, both in simulations as well as in the Bronchoscopy Suite, thus ensuring proficiency by the time they complete training. Of note, most of our bronchoscopies are done in collaboration with ENT and GI as part of our busy aerodigestive program.

Graduates of our fellowship program will be experts and leaders in the field of pediatric pulmonology, expected to guide the field in terms of care we provide and the clinical questions we study. Therefore, fellows will spend most of their time (approximately 18 months) involved in world-class training in research, teaching, quality improvement and safety. Fellows will be guided in their scholarly pursuit based upon their interests and available expertise at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital and Michigan State University, which includes basic and clinical / biomedical research expertise, medical education and outcomes research.

Some of the research interests currently being pursued by our pediatric pulmonary faculty include:

• Hovig Artinian, MD: the role of technology in medical education, equity in medical education, iron optimization in restless sleep, children with neuromuscular diseases, children who require chronic mechanical ventilation - check out a recent publication about text messaging and teaching residents
• Johanna Zea-Hernandez, MD: interstitial lung disease, primary ciliary dyskinesia, cystic fibrosis, bronchiectasis
• Susan Millard, MD: cystic fibrosis - check out a recent publication about genomics and cystic fibrosis
• Robert Schoumacher, MD: quality improvement, children who require chronic mechanical ventilation, insomnia and narcolepsy management
• John Schuen, MD: cystic fibrosis and the care of children with sleep disorders

Spectrum Health provides a comprehensive and very competitive benefits package for our residents, staff and their families. In addition, our program provides educational monies to support your ongoing education. Download our salary and benefits document to learn more.