More than 500 students, residents, fellows, and junior faculty prepared for the next steps in their respiratory medicine journeys during the pre-conference Early Career Programs in Orlando.

Four programs — the Student Scholars Program, Resident Boot Camp, Fellows Track Symposium, and New Faculty Boot Camp — featured lectures and discussions on professionally relevant science and scenarios, hands-on skills training, and networking opportunities with members of the ATS community.

Student Scholars Program

Omar Loya, BS, a research aide at the University of Illinois College of Medicine, was one of 80 participants in this year’s Student Scholars Program, a three-day curriculum offering wide exposure to potential paths in pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine. Student Scholars had the opportunity to engage with a curated portion of the International Conference program — including the Opening Ceremony, the Keynote Series, and the Public Advisory Roundtable (PAR) Patients & Experts Forum — and deliver three-minute thesis presentations.

Mr. Loya, who delivered a presentation on heritable pulmonary arterial hypertension and the sex disparities that exist within the disease, said that hearing from patients during the PAR Forum helped reinforce the real-world impact of research. He said the exchange of perspectives at the International Conference was a primary reason he would recommend the Student Scholars Program to peers.

“You have high school students here, all the way up to the highest level experts in the field. There’s a lot of communication between all these different levels, as well as between physicians and researchers,” he said.

Resident Boot Camp

More than 160 incoming fellows participated in the adult and pediatric tracks of this year’s two-day Resident Boot Camp, which equips outgoing residents with the knowledge and skills they’ll need to hit the ground running on the first day of pulmonary fellowship.

After finishing a station on advanced pediatric flexible bronchoscopy, Meaghan Rousset, MD, a soon-to-be fellow at Vanderbilt Medical Center, said the boot camp had exceeded her expectations.

“I knew it was going to be a good experience, but we’re getting one-on-one training and hands-on teaching from some of the top pediatric pulmonologists in the nation. That opportunity has been something that you can’t get anywhere else,” she said. “It ignites that curiosity and excitement as you start your future career.”

It’s just as exciting for the faculty as it is for the participants, said Drew Barber, MD, co-chair of the pediatric track of the Resident Boot Camp. He recalled attending the Resident Boot Camp before his fellowship, which subsequently led to further participation in ATS Early Career Programs and eventually, faculty and leadership positions.

“It can be really intimidating to start a fellowship when you don’t feel like you’re an expert in the field. Come July 1, you’re seen by your colleagues as the expert, and that’s scary,” he said. “So, I think this is a great way to warm up these residents to pediatric pulmonary fellowship, get their hands on some of these devices that they’re going to see and work with day in and day out, and meet colleagues and mentors.”

Fellows Track Symposium

Alice Luu, DO, first-year fellow at McLaren Greater Lansing, was among 200 current pulmonary and critical care fellows who were accepted into this year’s Fellows Track Symposium (FTS), which combined morning lecture sessions with afternoon interactive learning activities over two days.

Before a lecture on severe asthma and biologics in the FTS adult track, she noted that the small-group nature of the FTS programming had enhanced her learning experience and ability to connect with peers and faculty.

“I’m kind of early on in my career, so it’s useful to reiterate certain things or learn about the way people do certain practices,” she said. “I come from a community hospital, so it’s also interesting for me to see the different studies or practices at more academic places.”

New Faculty Boot Camp

This year’s New Faculty Boot Camp guided 75 participants through strategies for navigating the transition from clinical or post-doctoral fellowship to faculty appointment, as well as the initial years after appointment.

Claudia Gyimah, MBChB, a second-year fellow at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, said the New Faculty Boot Camp — which occasionally splits into clinician-scientist, clinician-educator, and PhD scientist tracks — had been particularly eye-opening since she is evaluating whether she wants to pursue a path in research or some combination of research and clinical work.

“It’s OK to not know what you want to do from the beginning — that’s what I took from this,” she said. “We do not all know from the beginning, but being informed and knowing where to focus and how to find mentors to guide you has been a recurring theme here.”

Sadaf Usmani, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Florida, enjoyed learning about the inner workings of journal publication and strategies for managing and communicating with a team. However, she said some of the most helpful guidance centered around how to transition to a faculty position — things the committee is looking for, what to do, and what not to do — as well as insight into what happens after that transition and how to sustain a career.

“When you’re at work every day, you’re focused on your tasks and your milestones but not really your own personal growth,” she said. “Most of us have a larger vision for our life, and this [boot camp] is where I got some information about what is important for any faculty position.”