Cardiology

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Cardiology

Curriculum

Fellows in the cardiology fellowship at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center are exposed to a wide range of clinical and research experiences. The 36-month program prepares them for successful careers as clinicians, researchers and leaders in the cardiology community. Roles and responsibilities transition over the course of training, with the first year primarily focused on acquisition of clinical skills, the second year on advancing clinical responsibility as well as significant protected research time and the final year predominantly dedicated to research, with the opportunity for clinical activities tailored to the fellow’s individual training goals.
Our fellowship program supports a robust offering of clinical and didactic conferences on a wide variety of cardiovascular-related topics. Speakers include Heart Institute faculty, faculty from other divisions at CCHMC and visiting professors from across the country and around the world. A core curriculum series is presented every July to provide first year fellows with basic pediatric cardiology knowledge for a smooth transition from residency to fellowship. Introductory lectures on research topics, including how to select a mentor and design a fellowship research project, are offered early in the academic year. The fellowship lecture series content is coordinated with pediatric cardiology board topics to ensure comprehensive didactic instruction over the course of categorical training.
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+ Clinical Highlights

Fellows rotate through five areas of clinical service on a monthly basis:
Echocardiography features state-of-the-art imaging equipment including transthoracic, transesophageal, fetal, stress and intravascular ultrasound imaging
The cardiac catheterization and intervention program has a national reputation for excellence in pediatric diagnostic and interventional procedures and ongoing clinical trials
The electrophysiology section provides comprehensive evaluation and management of rhythm disorders both in pediatric-aged patients as well as in adults with congenital heart disease. The section is currently involved in several multicenter pediatric catheter ablation trials.
The cardiac intensive care unit is the only such unit in a five-state region with a high volume of specialized and complex cases treated by a faculty double-boarded in pediatric cardiology and pediatric intensive care.
The cardiology ward service exposes the fellow to cardiovascular inpatient care, as well as inpatient and outpatient cardiac consultations. Additionally, this experience offers fellows the opportunity to participate in medical student and resident education.

+ Research Opportunities

Cardiology fellows typically have 16 months dedicated for research training. The depth and breadth of pediatric research at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in general and specifically within the Heart Institute provides unparalleled opportunities to advance pediatric cardiovascular medicine through clinical or laboratory research. Research performed by cardiology fellows is supported by the Heart Institute Research Core (HIRC), a unit dedicated to innovation in clinical and translational cardiovascular science. HIRC facilitates the design and implementation of research studies, the dissemination and application of findings and the development of research professionals. To accomplish the specific goals of his or her research project, the fellow works with an assigned project manager to lead a customized research team selected from a cadre of more than 40 research professionals, including clinical research coordinators, research nurses, biostatisticians, business and administrative personnel and biomedical informatics and data management experts.
In conjunction with the University of Cincinnati, the fellowship program also offers a Master of Science degree in Clinical and Translational Research. This degree program is designed to provide clinical professionals the necessary skills for a successful career as an independent investigator. The program emphasizes specific training in clinical epidemiology/clinical effectiveness, molecular epidemiology, clinical trials and translational research to prepare clinicians for translation of scientific advances into improved clinical practice and human health.

+ Advanced Training

The Heart Institute at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center provides advanced training for qualified and motivated fellows to gain the skills, knowledge and experience necessary for a successful academic career. In general, advanced trainees will have completed three years of pediatric cardiology training, although opportunities are available for other sub-specialty-trained applicants (e.g., pediatric critical care and adult cardiology) who wish to pursue advanced pediatric cardiology training.
Advanced fellowship training is available in:
Adolescent and Adult Congenital Heart Disease
Contact: Gary Webb, MD (gary.webb@cchmc.org)
Interventional Cardiology
Contact: Russel Hirsch, MD (russel.hirsh@cchmc.org)
Cardiac Intensive Care
Contact: David Nelson, MD, PhD (david.nelson@cchmc.org)
Electrophysiology
Contact: Timothy Knilans, MD (timothy.knilans@cchmc.org)
Fetal Cardiology
Contact: Erik Michelfelder, MD (erik.michelfelder@cchmc.org)
Heart Failure / Transplant
Contact: John Lynn Jefferies, MD (john.jefferies@cchmc.org)
Non-invasive Imaging
Contact: Erik Michelfelder, MD (erik.michelfelder@cchmc.org), or Michael Taylor, MD (michael.taylor@cchmc.org)
Preventive cardiology
Contact: Elaine Urbina, MD (elaine.urbina@cchmc.org)
Inquiries for fourth-year positions may be made through either Program Director Jeanne James, MD, or through the individual subsection directors as listed above.