Critical Care Medicine Fellowship 

The CMU Critical Care Medicine Fellowship Program has received initial accreditation as of May 2025 and will begin accepting fellows for the 2026-2027 academic year! 

A letter from our program director, Dr. Nader

Hello, prospective Critical Care fellows!

Thank you for your keen interest in our program. Our mission is to create a strong, well-rounded educational curriculum in a friendly yet comprehensive learning environment, setting each trainee up for a bright future in critical care medicine. We are thrilled to kick off this program and are excited about the opportunity to collaborate with faculty and fellows. Together, we will ensure that the program remains academically rigorous, clinically relevant, and responsive to the evolving needs of healthcare. We view this opportunity as a chance for both our professional development and as a way to contribute meaningfully to the advancement of our specialty, improving the care of critically ill patients and addressing the ongoing challenges in the healthcare sector. Clinical training will take place at two sites: Covenant Medical Center and MyMichigan Medical Center Saginaw, both affiliated with Central Michigan University. Fortunately, these hospitals are in very close proximity, so traffic will not be an issue. We have a dedicated team of core faculty who are extremely committed to our mission. As a fellow, you'll encounter a wide variety of critical care pathologies that will thoroughly prepare you for your future. You will also have the opportunity to work alongside medical students, emergency medicine, internal medicine, family medicine, OB/GYN, and surgical residents during your critical rotations. Plenty of opportunities for scholarly activities, quality improvement projects, and research are also available. Our state-of-the-art simulation lab on campus will give you many chances to master critical care-related procedures. The Tri-City area is inviting and friendly, offering affordable housing and ample opportunities to enjoy nature and the water. As a new program, we look forward to building it together and striving to become one of the best training programs in the state. Your insights and feedback will be invaluable as we continue to make improvements to meet the needs of our fellows.

Thank you again for your interest! Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.

Best regards,

Amjad Nader, MD; Program Director of Critical Care Medicine

Mission

At the heart of our critical care fellowship lies a profound commitment to excellence in healthcare, minimizing disparities, and improving care for everyone, regardless of their background. We are dedicated to training highly skilled physicians who will provide extraordinary care to the critical care patients in our community. We strive to minimize inequality in care across our vulnerable communities. We aspire to create fellows equipped to face the challenges of an ever-evolving medical landscape. The ultimate goal is to build patient-centered care supported by evidence-based practice and a compassionate approach.

Program goals

The aim of CMU’s Critical Care Medicine Fellowship Program aligns with our mission.

  1. Provide robust training, where trainees gain exceptional hands-on experience managing a wide range of challenging clinical cases, including but not limited to complex shock, organ dysfunctions, and emergency situations, all based on evidence-based practices.
  2. Provide a multidisciplinary approach that empowers learners to develop skills for life-long learning by acquiring knowledge from highly trained experts in the medical field to achieve better care and outcomes.
  3. Emphasize training compassionate leaders to tackle the challenges of healthcare system delivery and build a brighter and healthier future for our patients and trainees.
  4. Encourage fellows to invest in research activities and quality improvement projects that directly address gaps and deficiencies in care delivery and create solutions to achieve better patient outcomes.
  5. Build a highly competent team of trainees in clinical and procedural skills to minimize adverse events and improve the outcomes for our vulnerable population. 

Program highlights

Our fellows will rotate through various units, including medical, surgical, neuroscience, trauma, and neurosurgical ICUs, as well as cardiovascular and thoracic surgery ICUs. They will participate in formal ultrasound didactics and lectures. Additionally, fellows will have access to the simulation lab to practice critical care-related procedures, such as bronchoscopy, pleural procedures, central venous line placement, arterial line placement, mock codes, and clinical scenario simulations.

Curriculum and schedule

Two-year track schedule: **Boot Camp/Orientation (First 2 Weeks of Year One)**

BLOCK SCHEDULE

List of electives:

  • Cardiology
  • Cardiothoracic Surgery
  • ECMO
  • Gastroenterology
  • Hematology and Oncology
  • Infectious Disease
  • Interventional Cardiology
  • Interventional Radiology
  • Neurology
  • Nephrology
  • Neurosurgery
  • Palliative Care
  • Pulmonology
  • Radiology
  • Research and Quality Improvement

Research and scholarly activity: Research program lecture series (through CMU)

  • Our fellows will be assigned mentors during their first year of training to help them set goals and expectations, including opportunities for research and scholarly activities. Fellows will also be encouraged to present their research locally at the CMU Annual Research Symposium, the Michigan Chapter of SCCM, and nationally at the Annual SCCM Conference or the CHEST Conference.

Didactics

  • Weekly Fellow Lectures
  • Core Curriculum Lectures
  • Comprehensive Ultrasound Lectures and Online Modules
  • Mechanical Ventilation Lecture Series
  • Weekly Board Review Sessions
  • Biweekly Internal Medicine Grand Rounds
  • Biweekly EM-CCM (Emergency Medicine-Critical Care Medicine) Morbidity and Mortality
  • Monthly Critical Care Grand Rounds
  • Monthly Case Conferences
  • Multidisciplinary Morbidity and Mortality Reviews (Surgery and Trauma)
  • Monthly Critical Care Morbidity and Mortality Sessions
  • Biweekly Simulation Center Training
  • Annual Critical Care Symposium
  • Annual Society of Critical Care Medicine (SSCM) Conference