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The Training Program in Cardiovascular Diseases
Clinical Training Opportunities
The Training Program
in Cardiovascular DiseasesThe primary mission of the Cardiology Fellowship Program is to prepare the future leaders of cardiovascular medicine. We aim to develop expert clinicians, as well as basic and clinical investigators. In order to meet the rigors of cardiology in the 21st Century, we have developed two major training pathways. The Clinician tract will involve a 3-year training experience that will encompass a 6-month research experience. This tract is designed to develop expert clinicians. It is anticipated that many of these individuals will pursue a fourth year in interventional cardiology or electrophysiology (recognized subspecialties of the ABIM). The Investigator tract is designed for individuals interested in a career in academic cardiology. These individuals will complete 24 months of in-depth clinical training. An additional 2 to 3 years will be devoted exclusively to research. The research experience is designed to give the trainee the necessary tools in the techniques of investigator-initiated clinical and/or basic research.
Clinical training involves rotations in the CCU, Nuclear Cardiology, Echocardiography, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, the Cardiology Consultation Service, Cardiac Transplantation, the Arrhythmia Service, the Cardiac Catheterization/Interventional Service, Pediatric Cardiology, and outpatient activities in the Pacemaker/Arrhythmia Clinic, Pre- and Post-Cardiac Transplantation Clinic, Diagnostic Cardiology Clinic, Adults with Congenital Heart Disease Clinic and Marfan's Clinic.
Also provided are clinical and research electives in Adult and Pediatric Cardiology, Electrophysiology, Cardiovascular Radiology, and Computer Science, as well as Cardiovascular Biochemistry and Physiology, and diagnostic tools under development such as positron-emission tomography and ultrasonic tissue characterization. Subspecialty fellowships are offered in clinical electrophysiology, cardiac catheterization/intervention, echocardiography, and cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging.
Weekly clinical conferences include:
- Cardiology Core Curriculum covering topics such as myocardial mechanics, mechanisms of heart failure, hemodynamics, thrombosis, acute coronary syndromes, congenital heart disease, cardiovascular surgery, valvular heart disease, electrophysiology, lipid disorders, exercise physiology, endocarditis and cardiac transplantation;
- Electrocardiographic, Echocardiographic and Radiologic Cardiac Diagnostic conferences;
- Cardiology Grand Rounds;
- Clinical Fellow Conference in which clinical research protocols and controversies and current topics in cardiology are discussed;
- Cardiac Catheterization/Interventional Cardiology Conference.
The objective of our multidisciplinary research training program is the development of independent cardiovascular scientists competent to use principles of basic and applied clinical cardiovascular research. We believe that this objective will be best attained by an orchestrated program linking basic and clinical research that takes advantage of existing collaborations among experienced investigators at Washington University from the Cardiovascular Division and from the Departments of Medicine, Pediatrics, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Pathology, Molecular Biology and Pharmacology, Chemistry, Bioorganic Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Electrical Engineering, Physics, Physiology and Cell Biology, Radiology and The Institute of Biomedical Computing. Trainees not only will master the experimental techniques necessary for their specific research projects, but, through exposure to a broad range of research approaches and philosophies, they will be equipped to solve the critical problems of cardiovascular research without inhibitions imposed by restricted disciplinary training.
A new program in Cardiovascular Bioengineering, funded in part by the Whitaker Foundation, has been established for graduate engineering students as a collaborative effort between the School of Medicine and School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. This program is one of five components of a new Institute of Biological and Medical Engineering. The goal of the Institute is to lead the development of graduate education in biological and medical engineering at Washington University. The five doctoral programs include: biomedical and biological imaging, cardiovascular bioengineering, cell and tissue engineering, computational neurosciences and genome analysis.
The program in Cardiovascular Bioengineering comprises the following components: 1) ultrasound, 2) cardiac biophysics, 3) magnetic resonance imaging, and 4) biomechanics. Graduate students in engineering are supported through a training program and work in concert with Cardiology fellows in laboratories of the participating investigators. Courses in related engineering topics have been developed and include: Cardiovascular Engineering I: Electrophysiology, Cardiovascular Engineering II: Mechanics, Laboratory Methods in Ultrasonics, Quantitative Cardiovascular Physiology for Engineers, Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Imaging, and Systems Design for Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Spectroscopy.
The Cardiovascular Division's research programs emphasize the individual attention provided by each preceptor to individual trainees, with the graduate student-advisor relationship as a paradigm. In addition, research fellows participate in: 1) a series of tutorials that address biostatistics, ethical considerations in animal and human research, scientific integrity, writing of scientific manuscripts and grants, and laboratory safety, 2) weekly workshops that are structured to provide in-depth training in each of the major investigative areas within the Division, and 3) a weekly research seminar and journal club.
The success of the Division's combined clinical-research training program is manifest in part by the accomplishments of trainees who have completed the program over the past 10 years. More than 60 percent of these former trainees are involved in full-time academic activities requiring expertise in clinical and laboratory investigation, and many have been chosen for leadership positions in outstanding cardiovascular medicine programs across the country.
For More Information on the Cardiology Fellowship Programs
Cardiovascular Division Home Page | Introduction
Center for Cardiovascular Research | Faculty |
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