Pulmonology
Sanjay Chawla, MD
Critical Care Physician
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
New York, New York
Dr. Chawla is a critical care physician at a tertiary cancer center. Although his subspecialty training is in pulmonary disease and critical care medicine, he has chosen to focus on critical care. His daily practice encompasses caring for acutely ill cancer patients who develop problems related to cancer treatment, including infections, respiratory failure, kidney failure, or complications of cancer surgery. Additionally, he is involved in various aspects of teaching and clinical research, and is a member of several professional societies, including the Society of Critical Care Medicine, American College of Chest Physicians, and American Thoracic Society and its local chapter, the New York State Thoracic Society.
In the final phases of medical school, Dr. Chawla was seeking a field that offered a balance between acute care and continuity of care. Because his education was split between two major disciplines, he chose a residency in both internal medicine and general pediatrics. The combined four-year residency is shorter than separate residencies, which would each be three years. Although the combined residency is geared towards primary care, Dr. Chawla was looking towards a fellowship in both adult and pediatric critical care; however, during residency, he realized that these fields were diverse and a combined fellowship did not exist. With that in mind, he decided to focus on adult medicine and ultimately selected combined subspecialty (fellowship) training in pulmonary disease and critical care medicine for the three years. Physicians who subspecialize pulmonary/critical care have completed a residency in internal medicine.
During the first two years of his fellowship, Dr. Chawla sat for board examinations in general pediatrics, followed by internal medicine the next year. His interest in outpatient care was not strong, and he preferred caring for patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). Because many patients in the ICU have pulmonary problems, the combined training allowed for an additional understanding of these types of conditions. During the third year of fellowship, all trainees take the board exam in pulmonary disease, followed by the critical care board exam the following year after completing a fellowship. Some physicians go on to further specialize in either sleep medicine or interventional pulmonology, each requiring an additional year of training.
