I was hoping someone could answer a few of my questions regarding these pediatric subspecialties (critical care and cardio). As I am very interested in both.

1.) What fellowship programs are considered top notch for training pediatric intensivists? cardiologists?

and

2.) Is there a good amount of utility in being boarded in both fields through joint-fellowships that are currently available in a 5y time period? Would I be crazy to consider this?

Thanks.

I have a friend that is a PICU fellow at Texas Children's and she is working her ass off but getting amazing training. She says that most common and useful combined program is probably PICU and anesthesia. I guess at UCSD the faculty is almost entirely triple boarded and actually work in both the PICU and the OR. KInda interesting I thought.

augmel- Is your friend happy with her fellowship training at Baylor? What does she think of the PICU, faculty, etc? I've heard very good things about the program.

From what I hear, two good places for cardiology are Boston Children's Hospital and CHOP. Don't really know anything about critical care.

How does this "triple crown" work of becoming certified in peds, anesthesia and peds CCM? Is it really a 9 year process? I have a hard time believing so (although there isn't much alternative), as this sort of specialization locks you into an academic position, and paying back loans after 9 years of training seems nearly impossible.

However, it sure is quite a carrot...

I believe you must do five years after a pediatrics residency for 8 total years. My info came from the U of Florida at Gainesville website where they describe such a program. You have to do 3 years of an anesthesia residency and then 2 years of PICU. Didn't take that long in the old days. You can set yourself up in a potentially lucrative position but 8 years of growing loans takes some catching up.