Advanced Fellowships

Cardiac Electrophysiology

The Arrhythmia Service offers both Research and Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology Fellowships.

The Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology Fellowship program is accredited by the ACGME and meets the requirements for American Board of Internal Medicine Subspecialty Certification in Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology. The program provides outstanding clinical training in the management of arrhythmias and syncope, electrophyiologic testing, radiofrequency ablation, and implantation of arrhythmia and resynchronization devices. Furthermore, the fellowship provides excellent opportunities for non-accredited research and is designed to prepare fellows for careers in academic cardiac electrophysiology.

Separate Research Fellowships in Cardiac Electrophysiology also are available and focus on new techniques for arrhythmia diagnosis and management, with opportunities for collaboration with Bioengineering and other disciplines within cardiovascular medicine.

Individuals interested in these fellowships should call (650) 723-7111. Questions may be directed to Paul J Wang, MD, Director of the Arrhythmia Service and Cardiac Electrophysiology Fellowship.

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Interventional Cardiology

The Stanford Interventional Cardiology Section offers two-year advanced fellowships, one year, ACGME accredited, of intensive clinical training in invasive therapeutics and possible additional one year of non-accredited research.

Fellows are strongly encouraged to develop an independent research program with financial support. This focus may range from basic science to purely clinical research. Faculty from not only interventional cardiology but also from within the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine may act as mentors.

The clinical training involves not only angioplasty and stenting but also advanced techniques in atherectomy, intravascular ultrasound, and other devices. The training is demanding, and a high level of performance is expected. We do not currently offer training in peripheral interventions.
We accept US and overseas-trained fellows, but for foreign-trained fellows the proper visa and other documentation is required (see section on non-US applicants). They must be USMLE-certified and speak fluent English. Prospective overseas applicants should visit the ECFMG website for further information.

To apply, please send a letter of intent including the planned years of training and intended research plan. In addition, a CV and three letters of recommendation should be sent. You may download an application here. The application should be returned to:

David Lee, MD
RE: Interventional Cardiology Fellowship
Stanford University Medical Center
Interventional Cardiology H-2103
300 Pasteur Drive
Stanford, CA 94305-5218

If you have further questions or concerns, please feel free to e-mail Laura Dodera or Erika Marr Pollasky. You may also call us at at 650-725-2621 option 2.

Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology

A one year multidisciplinary advanced fellowship program in heart failure, heart transplantation, and mechanical circulatory support is administered through the Division under the direction of Drs. Sharon Hunt and Kiran Khush. The program provides advanced training in the fields of advanced heart failure, ventricular assist devices, and cardiac transplantation. The fellowship is currently funded for three fellows per year and involves rotations at Stanford University Medical Center and at the Kaiser Northern California heart failure and transplant referral center in San Jose.

More information about the Avanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology Fellowship including the application procedure is available here.

Advanced Echocardiography / Cardiovascular Imaging

The Stanford echocardiography and cardiovascular imaging section offers a one-year non-ACGME fellowship program.

This dedicated clinical imaging fellowship training is echo focused, designed to provide advanced echo training and fulfill the COCATS requirements for level III training in echo, including significant experience with transesophageal echo guidance of transcatheter structural interventions, including TAVR, mitral valve repair, paravalvular regurgitation repair, left atrial appendage occlusion, and congenital interventions, such as atrial and ventricular septal defect closure. It is expected that fellows that complete this training will pursue board certification in echocardiography.

The training will also include clinical training in cardiovascular MRI, with opportunity for exposure to cardiovascular MRI assessment of adult congenital heart disease. Opportunities for further multimodality exposure to nuclear cardiology and cardiovascular CT are also available. Although a clinical fellowship, development of and/or contribution to a research project focused on advanced imaging is encouraged.

Prerequisites for the clinical fellowship position include eligibility for California medical licensure, US citizen or permanent resident status, and completion of clinical fellowship in Cardiovascular Disease. Individuals with potential interest in the position may contact Ian S. Rogers, MD, Fellowship Director. Three letters of reference will be requested of candidates who apply for this position. Applications for July 2018 will be considered between July 1, 2017 and September 30, 2017. Applications can be submitted to Ian S. Rogers, MD, MPH.

In addition to the one-year non-ACGME clinical fellowship opportunity, opportunities for dedicated self-funded research and clinical fellowship training in cardiovascular MRI may be available under the mentorship of Phillip Yang, MD, Cardiovascular MRI Program Director, whose research interest focuses on the clinical translation of the fundamental molecular and cellular processes of myocardial restoration and regeneration. Individuals with potential interest in a self-funded opportunity in cardiovascular MRI may contact Dr. Yang. Opportunities for research projects in close collaboration with scientists in stem cell biology, electrical engineering, vascular biology, cardiac surgery, molecular imaging, and radiology may be available. Applications can be submitted to Phillip Yang, MD.

Adult Congenital Heart Disease

The Adult Congenital Heart Program at Stanford offers a two year multidisciplinary advanced fellowship in adult congenital heart disease (ACHD) that is ACGME accredited. At the end of the program, graduating fellows will be eligible for certification in Adult Congenital Heart Disease by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM). The ACHD fellowship is administered through the Divisions of Cardiovascular Medicine and Pediatric Cardiology at the Stanford University School of Medicine and the Adult Congenital Heart Program at Stanford, a Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital (LPCH) and Stanford Healthcare collaboration. This fellowship is designed to train leaders in the field of ACHD. The program provides advanced training in the field of ACHD, high risk pregnancy, and exposure to pulmonary hypertension, cardiac imaging, electrophysiology, diagnostic and interventional catheterization, advanced heart failure and transplantation, and cardiac surgery in the adult patient with congenital heart disease. Candidates must have completed general adult or pediatric cardiology fellowships at an ACGME-accredited program.

Curriculum

The program cosists of the following clnical rotations:

ACHD outpatient/inpatient service. The fellow is expected to participate in this dedicated ACHD rotation for 11 blocks. The outpatient service evaluates approximately 140 patients per month. The fellow is expected to participate in all outpatient clinics with adult congenital faculty members. This outpatient clinic includes outreach sites in the Bay Area and the transition and transfer clinic for adolescents and young adults at LPCH. There will be a dedicated half-day session clinic per week for 20 blocks where the fellow sees his/her own patients independently under the supervision of an adult congenital faculty member. The consultative evaluation will require the review of prior clinic visits, electrocardiogram, imaging studies, invasive testing and operative notes. Subsequent presentation to the faculty at the end of every ACHD clinic provides the opportunity for in-depth discussion of pathophysiology, differential diagnosis, physical examination, and review of pertinent objective data. This also includes review of all outpatient echocardiograms.

The inpatient service cares for approximately 3-6 patients per week. The fellow provides ACHD consultative services to multiple services in SHC and LPCH, including coronary care unit at SHC, medical inpatient unit, obstetrical service, cardiac intensive care unit at LPCH, and post-cardiac surgical patients. Inpatient management will include but not be limited to pregnancy, arrhythmia, heart failure, pulmonary hypertension, and pre and post cardiac surgical and noncardiac surgical management in the adult with CHD. The fellow is responsible for accepting transfers from our network hospitals for acute medical or surgical care. Finally, the fellow will prepare for the weekly inpatient cardiology and cardiac surgical conference.

ACHD imaging. The fellow acquires advanced methods of diagnosis including two-dimensional and three-dimensional, Doppler, transesophageal and stress echocardiography and MRI/CT in adults with CHD. During the 2 blocks of ACHD imaging and 11 blocks of ACHD inpatient/outpatient consultation, the trainee is expected to perform and interpret 150 transthoracic and 25 tranesophageal echocardiograms and review an additional 150 transthoracic and 25 tranesophageal echocardiograms. Because there are 2 pathways for entry into the ACHD fellowship (pediatric and adult pathways), these echocardiograms maybe supplemented by further review of general pediatric congenital or adult cardiovascular echocardiograms to achieve the competency for each trainee. The trainee is expected to review 50 MRI/CT in adults with CHD. Each fellow is expected to keep a procedure log of all imaging studies and major diagnosis of congenital heart disease in MedHub.

ACHD cardiac catheterization. The fellow has an opportunity to be exposed to a variety of different types of catheterization procedures at Stanford. In an average month, this laboratory performs 300 coronary diagnostic and inteventional procedures, 100 myocardial biopsies, 30 pediatric diagnostic and interventional catheterizations, 50 peripheral vascular procedures and a variety of other specialized procedures. The trainee is expected to perform and interpret 10 diagnostic and 20 interventional catheterizations and review an additional 10 diagnostic and 20 interventional cases. Because there are 2 pathways for entry into the ACHD fellowship (pediatric and adult pathways), these catheterizations maybe supplemented by further review of general pediatric congenital or adult cardiovascular catheterizations to achieve the competency for each trainee. Each fellow is expected to keep a procedure log of all catheterizations studies and major diagnosis of congenital heart disease in MedHub.

Cardiovascular intensive care unit at LPCH. This unit offers a broad experience in the care of critically ill patients with surgical and non-surgical disease in CHD. During this time, the trainee is expected to participate in the pre-operative and medical management of congenital heart disease.

Elective. These rotations offer an opportunity for a fellow to further amplify their skillset in a particular field through an elective. The ACHD fellow may choose from a variety of rotations within the pediatric and adult cardiology fellowship depending upon their interest and background training. For instance, a pediatric cardiologist may choose further rotations in the SHC coronary care unit, heart failure/transplant service, or adult electrophysiology service. An adult cardiologist may choose further rotations in LPCH with pediatric echocardiography, electrophysiology or cardiothoracic surgery. The fellow also has an opportunity to rotate through the pulmonary hypertension service.

Research. Fellows are expected to develop an independent research project during the fellowship. The fellow is strongly encouraged to meet with each faculty member in the adult congenital heart program to discuss ongoing projects. Research may range from basic science to purely clinical research. Faculty from not only the adult congenital heart program but also within the Divisions of Cardiovascular Medicine and Pediatric Cardiology may act as mentor. The trainee is expected to select a research mentor and create a timeline of a research project by the end of month 4. The identified research mentor will guide the fellow regarding methodology, data collection, data interpretation, analysis and manuscript preparation during their 2 year fellowship but the fellow will have dedicated time for research in 6 blocks. Monthly review of research timeline will occur with the research mentor. Presentation of the research at the local or national level is expected of the fellow.

Link to Download ACHD fellowship block diagram

Application Process

Application Process

Requirements:

· Completion and passing of all three USMLE steps

· ABIM board certified or board eligible in general adult or pediatric cardiology

· The accepted applicant must obtain a California medical license

· A valid ECFMG certificate for all foreign medical graduates

· Only J1 visas accepted

Application

Please send the ACHD common Application, together with a CV, photograph, statement of professional and investigative interest (limit: one page), three letters of recommendation (One from general adult or pediatric cardiology fellowship program director or chief of cardiology), copies of USMLE scores, and ECFMG certificate for all foreign medical graduates. Due date is August 15 for the planned start of July 1. Interviews occur during the months of October and November.

Mail or Email applications to:

Joyce Hages (jhages@stanford.edu)
Division of Cardiovascular Medicine
870 Quarry Road
Stanford, CA 94305

Link to Download ACHD fellowship common application