Pulmonary, Critical Care, Allergy and Sleep Medicine at USC-San Francisco, August 2015

My name is Osnat Shtraichman. I am 36 years old, born and raised in Israel and currently live in Petach Tikvah with my husband and three children aged 7.5 years, 4 years, and 20 months, respectively.

I graduated from the Bruce and Ruth Rappaport Faculty of Medicine at the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology in 2006. I completed my internship and finished my internal medicine residency in Internal Ward "D" at Rabin Medical Center in 2013. Starting January 2014, I began my Pulmonary Fellowship at the Pulmonary Institute at Rabin Medical Center.

As part of my training, I took an active part in a broad array of clinical fields including: pulmonary function test interpretation, pulmonary consultation team, perform bronchoscopy, bronchoalveolr lavage and biopsy for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. I also participate in our academic sessions and research projects. I was recently assigned to the general pulmonary outpatient clinic which includes both long-term and new patients and pulmonary clinic devoted specifically to silicosis patients.

In addition, I started a specialized clinic for lung transplants candidates and post-transplant treatment.

Rabin Medical Center is currently the only lung transplant center in Israel. We perform approximately 40 lung transplants per year. We have recently celebrated the 500th lung transplantation at our center. The candidacy clinic includes assessing the severity of lung disease and eligibility for transplantation. The post-transplant clinic includes constant follow up of complex patients, monitoring lung function, organ rejection, drug levels and a range of complications: infections, renal failure, adverse events from immunosuppressive drugs, etc.

In an attempt to further expand my knowledge and expose myself to the worldview of medicine, I am planning an observational fellowship at the Department of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Allergy and Sleep Medicine at the University of California-San Francisco Medical Center. This department includes both a large Interstitial Lung Disease department which follows patients with severe advanced lung disease, which can lead to the need for a transplant and therefore a lung transplant team as well. During this time, my goal is to observe both pre- and post-transplant patient management, to learn from this large center's experience, to share our center's experience and to exchange ideas for further collaborations and research opportunities.

My planned visit will take place on August 5-24, 2015. During my visit, I am honored to be hosted by Professor Jeff Golden, Professor of Medicine and Surgery, Director of the Nina Ireland Program of Lung Health, Associate Medical Director of Lung Transplantation and Director of Clinical Research ILD Program.

Upon my return to Rabin Medical Center, I will be able to apply this experience in treating my patients and in sharing my new knowledge and ideas with my colleagues for new research opportunities.

I would like to thank you very much for this wonderful opportunity, I am certain it will enrich my medical knowledge and enhance patient care upon my return.