Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsConcentrationsProcedural ExpertiseSubspecialtiesTraining and CertificationAppointment Tips

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Concentrations

Procedural Expertise

Subspecialties

Training and Certification

Appointment Tips

A pulmonologist is a physician who specializes in diseases of therespiratory tract. This includes the lungs, airways (mouth, nose, pharynx, larynx, and trachea), and respiratory muscles (including thediaphragmand intercostal muscles).

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Doctor using stethoscope to listen to woman’s chest

Pulmonology, known aschest medicineis some countries, is a subspecialty of internal medicine. Pulmonologists can treat a wide range of respiratory diseases and disorders, from asthma and bronchitis right through to lung cancer and COPD. A pulmonologist requires no less than 13 years of education and training, sometimes more for certain subspecialties.

According to2016 studyfrom the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between 12,000 and 12,500 pulmonologists are currently practicing in the United States, the majority of whom are clustered in urban centers.

Pulmonologists are trained to diagnose, treat, manage, and prevent respiratory diseases. Moreover, they have a broad understanding of the impact respiratory diseases have on other interconnected organ systems. Some of the respiratory diseases are primary (meaning that they originate in the respiratory tract), while others are secondary (meaning that they are the consequence of another condition).

A pulmonologist may serve as the sole specialist for certain conditions or work as part of a care team consisting of aprimary care physician,oncologist,rheumatologist,thoracic surgeon,cardiologist, geneticist,allergist, respiratory therapist, and critical care specialist.

Here are some of the conditions a pulmonologist can diagnose and treat:

A pulmonologist will rely on an expansive range of tools and techniques to diagnose and treat respiratory diseases. Some can be used for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.

Diagnosis

Pulmonologists will diagnose respiratory illnesses with a combination of procedures which may include a physical exam, lab tests, respiratory tests, imaging studies, and even exploratory surgery. Among them:

Obstructive vs. Restrictive Lung Diseases

Treatment

The range of treatments used in pulmonology is as vast and varied as the types of diseases diagnosed. Among some of the more common treatments, both pharmaceutical and mechanical:

While many pulmonologists will maintain a general practice in a hospital, medical office, or outpatient clinic, others will pursue subspecialties that require additional training. Some of the more common include:

Pediatric pulmonology is a subspecialty of pediatrics, not internal medicine. For this, you must first be board certified inpediatricsbefore embarking on a fellowship in pulmonology.

Completing an undergraduate degree is the first step toward a career in pulmonology. For colleges that don’t offer a specific premedical program, you would need to take a number of prerequisite courses, including advanced math, physics, chemistry, and biology. Most medical schools today require you to pass the Medical Competency Aptitude Test (MCAT).

After graduation, the next four years would be spent at amedical or osteopathic collegeto obtain a degree as either a doctor of medicine (MD) or doctor of osteopathic medicine (DO). The first two years would be devoted to classroom studies and the second two would provide you hands-on experience in different fields of medicine at various medical facilities.

Upon graduating from medical school, you would need to obtain a medical license in the state in which you intend to practice. This typically involves passing a national board exam and, in some states, a state board exam.

Graduates with an MD degree would need to take the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE), while those with a DO degree would take the Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination (COMLEX).

The final step in your training would involve a two-year fellowship in pulmonology under the tutelage of experts in the field. At the end of the fellowship, you must pass a second set of board exams, called the Pulmonary Disease Certification Exam (PDCE).

Jobs prospects for newly certified pulmonologists remain robust. According to the annualMedscape Pulmonologist Compensation Report, pulmonologists in the United States earned an average salary of $321,000 in 2018.

If referred to a pulmonologist, it is important to ensure that the office accepts your insurance. If not, ask your insurer to provide you a list ofin-network providerswhose credentials you check on theABIM physician verification website.

Before your appointment, ask your primary care physician to forward any relevant medical records, lab reports, or imaging studies. It also helps to prepare a list of medications you are taking as well as any hospitalizations, outpatient procedures, or urgent care treatments you’ve had.

You should also be prepared to ask as many questions as you need to fully understand your condition and the way forward. Here are a few examples:

There is no such thing as a wrong question. If you don’t get the responses you need or are uncertain about the course of treatment, do not hesitate to seek asecond opinion.

A Word From Verywell

Finding a great pulmonologist doesn’t mean that you are no longer in need of a primary care doctor. It’s just the opposite. While pulmonologists have all of the skills needed to perform the tasks of primary care, their practice is focused purely on pulmonology.

By contrast, your primary care doctor is tasked with overseeing every aspect of your health, working alongside specialists (sometimes multiple specialists) to ensure that treatment plans are coordinated and that one treatment approach doesn’t undermine the other. This is especially true with such comorbid conditions such as COPD and heart disease.

At the same time, many specialists do not want the responsibility of overseeing all of the facets of a person’s health. This is where your primary care physicianisa specialist, offering a consistent, holistic approach to care that other doctors don’t.

1 SourceVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American College of Physicians.Pulmonary Disease.Additional ReadingLee, H. and Sachdeva, A.Training program of interventional pulmonology fellowships: USA.J Thoracic Dis. 2015 Dec;7(Suppl 4): S417-S417. DOI: 10.3978/j.issn.2072-1439.2015.11.55.Silvestri, G.; Feller-Kopman, D.; Chen, A. et al.Latest Advances in Advanced Diagnostic and Therapeutic Pulmonary Procedures.Chest.2012 Dec;142(6):1634-44. DOI: 10.1378/chest.12-2326.

1 Source

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American College of Physicians.Pulmonary Disease.Additional ReadingLee, H. and Sachdeva, A.Training program of interventional pulmonology fellowships: USA.J Thoracic Dis. 2015 Dec;7(Suppl 4): S417-S417. DOI: 10.3978/j.issn.2072-1439.2015.11.55.Silvestri, G.; Feller-Kopman, D.; Chen, A. et al.Latest Advances in Advanced Diagnostic and Therapeutic Pulmonary Procedures.Chest.2012 Dec;142(6):1634-44. DOI: 10.1378/chest.12-2326.

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

American College of Physicians.Pulmonary Disease.

Lee, H. and Sachdeva, A.Training program of interventional pulmonology fellowships: USA.J Thoracic Dis. 2015 Dec;7(Suppl 4): S417-S417. DOI: 10.3978/j.issn.2072-1439.2015.11.55.Silvestri, G.; Feller-Kopman, D.; Chen, A. et al.Latest Advances in Advanced Diagnostic and Therapeutic Pulmonary Procedures.Chest.2012 Dec;142(6):1634-44. DOI: 10.1378/chest.12-2326.

Lee, H. and Sachdeva, A.Training program of interventional pulmonology fellowships: USA.J Thoracic Dis. 2015 Dec;7(Suppl 4): S417-S417. DOI: 10.3978/j.issn.2072-1439.2015.11.55.

Silvestri, G.; Feller-Kopman, D.; Chen, A. et al.Latest Advances in Advanced Diagnostic and Therapeutic Pulmonary Procedures.Chest.2012 Dec;142(6):1634-44. DOI: 10.1378/chest.12-2326.

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