Advanced Training: Interventional Cardiology
The Interventional Cardiology Fellowship is a one-year training program that provides instruction and experience in all aspects of interventional cardiology. It includes a comprehensive education, performance of a wide menu of percutaneous coronary and peripheral arterial interventions, instruction in congenital and other structural heart disease procedures, and expertise in the clinical management of patients before and after procedures. Education is provided both during procedures and in dedicated sessions weekly that include case reviews, didactic education, and journal club literature review. In addition, academic opportunities for teaching and research are provided and highly encouraged.
The 12-month training program is divided into monthly clinical rotations at Parkland Memorial Hospital and the Dallas Veterans Administration Medical Center, primary teaching hospitals of UT Southwestern Medical Center. Interventional fellows participate in all interventions at these sites and acquire certification level skills within the training year. Competence in a variety of revascularization procedures such as angioplasty, stent implantation, laser therapy, rotational, and other forms of atherectomy is expected. Imaging skills with intravascular and intracardiac ultrasound as well as optimal coherence tomography is provided. Finally exposure to emerging technology and procedural research is provided.
Fellows can expect to perform a minimum of 500 interventions during their training year and be able to manage a cardiac lab team as well as train others in an academic setting. Additionally, fellows participate in a weekly ambulatory clinic, providing them opportunity to follow patients after procedure and offer consultation on those ahead of procedures. A close working relationship with faculty is provided throughout the training year.
The research experience of the interventional fellows involves active participation in ongoing clinical research trials at the clinical practice sites, as well as participation in an individual project with a faculty mentor. At the conclusion of the training, fellows are expected to become board eligible for the American Board of Internal Medicine, Interventional Cardiology certifying examination.
Candidates applying for the fellowship program must have completed an ACGME-accredited internal medicine residency program, as well as a three-year ACGME-accredited fellowship in general cardiovascular diseases. Candidates must be certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) in internal medicine and be board-eligible in cardiovascular disease.
Two fellows are accepted in the training program for each academic year and offers are typically made six months ahead of start date.