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.