Education

The educational goal of the program is to provide training that will allow the graduate to successfully pass the American Board of Pediatrics Certifying Examination in Pediatric Cardiology. This includes training in all clinical aspects of pediatric cardiology as well as training in research, medical education, global health, and/or quality improvement/safety.

The mission of the program has been to educate and train future leaders in the field of pediatric cardiology who meet the highest expectations for clinical excellence, medical education, innovative research, patient safety, and professionalism. These pillars have and will continue to make UCSF a top destination for many graduate medical education trainees.

The fellowship program in pediatric cardiology is structured to ensure participants develop excellent clinical and research skills and to provide fellows with the skills needed for a successful career in academic medicine. We have structured our fellowship program to mirror a faculty group, so that, with faculty guidance, the fellows develop the skills necessary to succeed in a group of academic cardiologist. The rotations are non-hierarchical; when a fellow is on a clinical rotation, he/she/they performs the same activities irrespective of the year of training. Each fellow, by defining individual academic interests and goals can tailor the program to meet their career goals while meeting program requirements.

Rotations vary in duration (1-4 week blocks) with the majority 1-2 weeks at a time. The rotations are spaced to allow for an optimal iterative learning experience while allowing for an individualized program. Fellows will have core rotations in clinical inpatient/consult service, cardiac intensive care, non-invasive imaging, electrophysiology, cardiac catheterization, adult congenital heart disease, pulmonary hypertension/heart failure/transplant, outpatient clinic, and research.

To facilitate a successful training experience, our fellows have a faculty advisor(s), scholarship oversight committee, and participate in our summer programs.

The summer program during the first four weeks for the fellowship ensures that the fellows is capable of undertaking clinical responsibilities expected during the first year. It is an intensive period of training in both the basic technical skills of pediatric cardiology and in developing the critical foundation upon which to build a knowledge base. Over that four-week period, the fellow does intensive rotation in the echo laboratory and several hours of lectures daily on the core information necessary to develop a comprehensive understanding of pediatric cardiology. With this early intensive training in the critically important skills and by developing a core knowledge of pediatric cardiology, the fellow is prepared to function along with a faculty member as a pair of cardiologists caring for children with heart disease from the first day of clinical service in the fall. During the summer/fall of second year, fellows can apply to participate in pathways for clinical research training, medical education training, and global health training.

Our program provides a very diverse and unique clinical experience across patient populations, hospital systems, and practice settings. During the 3 years of clinical training, our fellows rotate through UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital, San Francisco and Oakland, Kaiser Northern California Health System, and San Francisco General Hospital.

Research training and productivity are integral parts of the fellowship program. To achieve this goal, one year of the three basic years of training are assigned to research activities. In accordance with the guiding principles of the fellowship program, each fellow will devise an approach to creating and fulfilling an individual research plan with his/her advisor. The instruction curriculum will include courses from the UCSF Training in Clinical Research (TICR) Program (biostatistics, science writing, lecturing, study design, etc.), other ORU’s, and Departments within the School of Medicine.

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply for an advanced 4th year fellowship, candidates must have completed an ACGME-accredited pediatric program. J-1 and H-1B Scholars are accepted. Learn more on the ISSO website 

Application Process

Candidates interested in a one-year non-ACGME fellowship program specializing in interventional catheterization, echocardiography, pulmonary hypertension, or should submit their completed applications to the fellowship coordinator, we do not use ERAS to process 4th year applications. In addition, UCSF offers a 2-year adult congenital heart disease fellowship 

To be considered, a completed application will consist of:

• Current CV
• Two letters of recommendation
• Letter outlining your career interest and goals of a 4th year

Natalie Maria 
Fellowship Program Manager
550 16th Street, Fourth Floor (mail code: 0110)
San Francisco, CA 94158
Tel: 415.476.2981
Email: [email protected]