Welcome Letter - Sleep Medicine Fellowship

Dear Fellowship Applicant:

We are delighted that you are interested in the growing field of sleep medicine and the training program offered at the University of Maryland. Since the Sleep Disorders Center was founded in 2002, we have been growing and expanding our clinical and research services. We are a multidisciplinary center with participation from Pulmonology, Neurology, Psychiatry, Psychology, Pediatrics, Otolaryngology, Nursing and Dentistry. Our center is fully accredited by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and manages a full service sleep laboratory consisting of six adult and two pediatric beds. We also have active research projects in a number of important areas including animal models of sleep apnea, sleep disturbances in patients with COPD, the importance of circadian rhythms and ventilatory patterns on sleep in ventilated patients, effects of sleep disturbances in patients with neuromuscular disease, and effects of shift work on sleep patterns and neurocognitive function in critical care nurses.

This program is approved by the ACGME as a one-year fellowship leading to eligibility to sit for the ABIM-sponsored sleep board. Included in the fellowship are experiences in the adult outpatient service and sleep laboratory at the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) Midtown Campus, the Baltimore VA Medical Center (across the street from UMMC), the Pediatric outpatient service and the adult inpatient service at UMMC. Experiences are provided in clinical evaluation across the range of sleep disorders and laboratory evaluation of polysomnographic studies, including diagnostic and therapeutic studies, and multiple sleep latency testing. Fellows acquire skill in the general and specific evaluation of patients with respiratory, neurologic, and mental health sleep disorders. In addition, fellows also acquire experience in scoring and interpreting sleep studies and gain experience in the different treatments offered for sleep disorders. These treatments include positive pressure and ventilatory therapy for sleep disordered breathing, pharmacotherapy and behavioral therapy for insomnia and circadian rhythm disorders, sleep related movement disorders and sleep related behavioral disorders. Fellows also engage in at least one scholarly activity designed to lead to a publication.

Thank you for your interest in this important and expanding field of health care. Please feel free to download the information available on this site. The process for fellowship application, as well as the application, may be downloaded from this web site. Fellowship applications should be received between July 1 and September 30 for fellowship to begin July of the following year.

As always, we welcome further inquiries about our program.

Fellowship Requirements

As outlined by the American Board in Internal Medicine, by the time the fellowship starts, fellows will have completed residency training in one the sponsoring specialties. These include: internal medicine, family medicine, psychiatry, neurology, pediatrics, anesthesiology and otolaryngology. Proof of completion of training requirements is required prior to beginning the fellowship. Applicants need to be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident or be eligible for J1 visa sponsorship by the institution.

Sincerely,

Montserrat Diaz-Abad, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Director, Sleep Medicine Fellowship Program
mdiaz@medicine.umaryland.edu<

Steven M. Scharf, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor of Medicine
Director, Sleep Disorders Center