Advancements in our understanding of asthma physiology and response to therapy have transformed the management of this disease. In fact, such heterogeneity exists among patients that care must be personalized. Not all patients respond the same to specific therapies, and this is particularly true for those with severe disease.

Students who attend the CHEST ADVANCED CLINICAL IMMERSION course on severe asthma will be taught by trained clinician-researchers to identify asthma phenotypes that respond to specific, targeted therapies. This starts with a session on asthma pathophysiology and a review of existing guidelines.

From there, learners will have the opportunity to interview patients with severe asthma. These sessions provide a look into their lives that can’t be obtained via textbooks or seminars. They’ll share their real-world experiences and describe the way severe asthma and its treatment can dictate their lives, relationships, and work. Challenges with access, insurance, and response will all be discussed.

There will be “hands-on” simulation training with lung function testing and bronchoscopy. Rather than hearing about these tests, the learners will witness and perform them. There’s no better way to put yourself in a patient’s shoes than by experiencing the same testing they do.

The course offers an extended session on case management. Learners will break into small groups with a preassigned case. A clinician-educator will lead them through the case, answer questions, and conduct each session using a “flipped classroom” format to maximize learning. Each small group will summarize their experience and present their management plan to the group as a whole after the small group sessions are over.

Perhaps most importantly, this course brings learners inside the world of the practicing pulmonologist working at a state-of-art academic medical center. Learners will use the same tests pulmonologists employ to diagnose and phenotype their patients. They’ll learn the physiology behind these tests and why their results lead to specific treatment recommendations. They’ll learn to speak the same language and enhance communication by exploring why physicians behave and patients respond the way they do.