Internal Medicine · Fellowship Career
Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine
Lung disease and intensive care medicine with distinct inpatient, outpatient and procedural responsibilities.
Fellowship Length
3 years
After a qualifying residency
Prior Residency
Internal Medicine
3 years residency
Typical Post-MD Training
6 years
Residency + fellowship; alternative pathways may overlap
Attending Compensation
$468,874
Average Total Compensation
Training Pathway
Medical School → Residency → Fellowship
Clinical Work and Procedures
- Bronchoscopy
- Ventilator and shock management
- Pulmonary function interpretation
- Advanced respiratory failure consultation
Attending Compensation
$468,874
Average Total Compensation
Approximately 350 peer-reported full-time salaries in September 2026.
Schedules and Practice Settings
ICUs with nights and high-acuity call; pulmonary clinic, bronchoscopy and sleep or interstitial lung disease sessions.
How to Prepare
During Medical School
Compare ICU overnight care with pulmonary hypertension or ILD clinic before choosing combined pulmonary/critical care.
Research or Quality Improvement
Study ventilator-associated complications, post-ICU outcomes or COPD transitions of care.
During Residency
In IM residency, build experience with physiology, ICU teamwork, pulmonary consults, difficult conversations and interpretable quality work.
A Question to Ask Fellows
Do you want mixed ICU and outpatient pulmonary practice, or primarily intensive care?
Sources & Data Notes
Reviewed . Fellowship durations and entry routes summarize commonly accredited training pathways. Specific institutions can have different eligibility, early-entry and combined tracks; check program and board requirements for your cycle.
Fellowship Match selection is separate from the medical school residency Match. No residency competitiveness index, MD versus DO residency outcome, or fellowship acceptance percentage is assigned to these pages. National attending compensation uses a source-matched specialty estimate when available; Doximity and Medscape report total compensation, Marit uses smaller opt-in physician samples, and Salary.com models base salary from employer and third-party data. These measures are not interchangeable. Fellowship stipends depend on PGY level and institution.
For Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine: Marit Health 2026, Average Total Compensation for the reported “Pulmonary Critical Care Physician” population. Approximately 350 peer-reported full-time salaries in September 2026. This is a national estimate, not a location-specific offer.
Schedules, example procedures, preparation tips and clinical roles are educational descriptions; responsibilities depend on training, practice setting and privileges. This is educational career guidance rather than individualized employment or training advice.