Medical Critical Care

The goal of the Medical Critical Care Fellowship program at Atrium Health is to provide exposure to a wide array of complex disease processes in the critical care setting in order to ensure the advanced practice provider (APP) possesses the skills necessary to be successful in delivering excellent critical care. The fellowship will allow both nurse practitioners and physician assistants to develop the knowledge base to perform critical care procedures and lifesaving interventions in various high-acuity patient populations and situations.

The fellowship will serve as an immersion in specific critical care competencies to prepare the APP for the critical thinking above and beyond the level received in their formal education. Furthermore, it will serve to further the APP’s knowledge of evidence-based practice, basic research techniques, guideline development and quality improvement initiatives. Overall, it will prepare the APP to be a well-rounded provider, leader and resource within the critical care team.

In addition to scheduled simulation labs, fellows will have real-time exposure to patient care in various intensive care units. They will have the opportunity to learn many critical care procedures, including tube thoracostomy, diagnostic and therapeutic fiberoptic bronchoscopy, central venous catheter insertion, arterial catheter insertion, pulmonary artery catheter insertion, thoracentesis, paracentesis, lumbar puncture and hemodialysis catheter insertion.

APP fellows will have a comprehensive rotation in different medical intensive care unit service lines after the completion of the initial three months of core curriculum. Each fellow will rotate through the following service lines in a month long-format:

1. Medical intensive care unit
2. Neurosurgical intensive care unit
3. Dickson heart unit
4. Bone Marrow Transplant intensive care unit
5. Surgical/Trauma intensive care unit
6. Regional Hospital intensive care units
1. Cabarrus
2. Pineville
7. Progressive care unit
8. Elective Month
1. Neurology
2. Cardiology
3. Palliative care
9. Hospitalist medicine