Schedule Overview

Sample Rotation Block Schedule

Rotation Descriptions

Surgical Intensive Care

Fellows will gain experience managing critically ill patients across multiple surgical specialties, including Trauma, General/Acute Care Surgery, Vascular Surgery, and Surgical Oncology. Clinical exposure will encompass all relevant conditions required by ACGME standards. Fellows will develop and refine procedural skills such as placing central and arterial lines, performing chest tube insertions, conducting thoracenteses, bronchoscopy, and intubation. Fellows should supervise residents performing these procedures and provide ongoing instruction to support technical growth.

Cardiac Intensive Care

During this rotation, fellows will focus on developing clinical competency in caring for critically ill patients, including the recognition and management of dysrhythmias, basic LVAD care, acute heart failure treatment, and the management of pulmonary hypertension. Effective communication is expected, with an emphasis on effective collaboration within multidisciplinary teams and notifying the team the day before taking call, as learners will not participate in rounds the next morning. Fellows will also build procedural skills such as interpreting EKGs and gaining a foundational understanding of echocardiography techniques.

Medical Intensive Care

During the Medical Intensive Care Unit rotation, fellows will develop skills in caring for critically ill patients, with a focus on managing respiratory failure and ventilators, sepsis and shock, acute heart failure, and pulmonary hypertension. Effective communication is essential, including collaborating with multidisciplinary teams and notifying the team the day before call, as learners will not join rounds the following morning. Procedurally, fellows will teach residents and students how to perform procedures such as line placement and chest tube insertion and will gain experience interpreting ABGs and chest X-rays.

Coronary Intensive Care

The Coronary Intensive Care Unit (CICU) provides advanced, multidisciplinary care for patients with life threatening medical cardiac conditions, offering surgical critical care fellows an immersive experience in complex cardiovascular physiology and high acuity resuscitation. During this rotation, fellows will manage acute coronary syndromes, cardiogenic shock, malignant arrhythmias, advanced heart failure, and post–cardiac arrest care, with frequent exposure to mechanical circulatory support such as IABP, Impella, and temporary transvenous pacemakers. Fellows will refine their skills in hemodynamic assessment, interpretation of invasive monitoring, vasoactive medication management, and evidence based cardiology critical care decision making.

Elective

An elective month may include Anesthesiology, Interventional Radiology, Infectious Disease, Acute Care Surgery, and Nephrology.

Didactics

Regional/National Conferences

The fellowship program sponsors attendance at the Surgical Critical Care Congress including the Ultrasound Course and the Detroit Trauma Symposium.

Additional Training

Complete Conscious Sedation training

Advanced Surgical Skills for Exposure in Trauma (ASSET)

In-Service Exam