Cardiology Fellowship Training Program

Our three year program provides 24 months of clinical cardiology and 12 months of research and/or clinical concentration. Six fellows are chosen each year through the National Residency Match Program (NRMP). Cardiology fellowship applications are submitted to the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS).

Training at an outstanding institution

UMass Memorial Medical Center has an extraordinary track record of cardiac care. The institution ranks number one in Massachusetts and New England for survival after heart attack. It is among the top five hospitals nationwide for the third year in a row. According to Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS), UMass Memorial is a national leader in quality and safety (read story).

Goals of the program 

Simply stated, our primary goal is to find the strong medical residents and transform them into the tomorrow’s leaders in academic and clinical cardiology. We believe that our program provides superb training in all aspects of cardiology in a supportive, collegial, and stimulating environment. Some the attributes of the program are:

• Experience in all aspects of both tertiary care and community cardiology.
• State-of-the-art cardiac catheterization laboratory, digital echocardiography, and coronary care unit.
• Diverse research opportunities.
• Ambulatory experience with direct supervision by skilled and experienced clinicians, both in general cardiology and adult congenital cardiology.
• Nuclear cardiology training with the ability to obtain an NRC license.
• Experience in advanced tomographic imaging (MRI/CT)
• Experience in the care of cardiothoracic surgical patients.
• In-depth training in all aspects of preventive cardiology, including nutrition counseling.
• Opportunities for teaching both residents and medical students.

Clinical cardiology 

The first two years are devoted to training in all aspects of clinical cardiology. During this time, with close staff mentoring, fellows serve as cardiology consultants for acutely ill medical and surgical patients; provide ongoing, outpatient care for their own patients and for patients in the UMass adult congenital clinic; and perform and interpret both invasive and noninvasive diagnostic procedures. Fellows are expected to participate in didactic sessions, including the core lecture series, journal club, noninvasive conference, catheterization conference, electrophysiology conference, congenital conference and EKG conference. Time is set aside in the second year to enable fellows to pursue a research project under the guidance of a mentor. The third year is designed for completion of research projects; advanced training in such areas as cardiac catheterization, echocardiography, and electrophysiology; and electives such as congenital heart disease and vascular medicine. Fourth year fellowships are offered in interventional cardiology and electrophysiology.  

Our state-of-the-art echocardiography, cardiac catheterization and electrophysiology laboratories provide ample opportunity for the education of fellows.

• The echocardiography laboratory performs approximately 12,500 transthoracic, 720 transesophageal and 770 treadmill/dobutamine echocardiograms each year.
• The catheterization laboratory performs approximately 3442 diagnostic procedures and 1826 percutaneous coronary interventions each year.
• Vascular interventions are performed by members of both the division of cardiovascular medicine and the division of vascular surgery.
• The state-of-the-art Phillips electrophysiology lab utilizes advanced 3-D electroanatomic mapping systems (CARTO and ESI). Each year, the EP lab implants approximately 400 pacemakers and 400 ICDs, of which 150 are biventricular devices, and performs 250 ablations, of which 130 are for atrial fibrillation.
• Many of our graduating fellows receive certification from the National Board of Echocardiography.

Research

• All cardiology fellows have research blocks in their second and/or third year.
• Fellows are expected to produce at least one manuscript or one abstract, with most fellows exceeding this requirement.
• As many as twelve months may be devoted to research within the fellowship's three year period.
• A fourth year devoted to research is possible with advance planning.
• In the past, fellows have completed research projects in the following:
•  Epidemiology (Worcester Heart Attack Study, Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events)
•  Imaging (echocardiography, MRI, CT)
•  Electrophysiology
•  Interventional Cardiology
•  Clinical Trials
•  Basic/translational research
• The program director’s responsibility is to guide the fellow to a research project and mentor.
• Fellows who are interested may earn a Masters of Science in Clinical Investigation during fellowship. Learn more http://www.umassmed.edu/GME/mastersinscience.aspx