Cardiac Fellowship from Community Program

[Tacti_Turtleneck]

Hello,
I am an intern at a relatively new community program interested in cardiac fellowship. What are some things that I can do to put myself in position to be a competitive applicant in 3 years' time? We have had fellowship matches from my program, but I want to ensure that I am taking the right steps as early as possible.

Thank you!

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[Beeftenderloin]

Hello,
I am an intern at a relatively new community program interested in cardiac fellowship. What are some things that I can do to put myself in position to be a competitive applicant in 3 years' time? We have had fellowship matches from my program, but I want to ensure that I am taking the right steps as early as possible.

Thank you!

I went to an, at best, average community based program. Study hard and get >90%ile on CA1 ITE (that’s the year that really matters for cardiac fellowship). Write a text book chapter and/or journal publication (even if it’s just a case report in a low impact journal or some text no one will read). Present difficult cases at ASA and/or SCA. Be an amazing resident and play nice in the sandbox so you can get solid letter of recommendation that make you stand out, in a good way. The more of those things you do, the better your chances are. Crushing ITE will move the needle more than anything else IMO.

With salaries for generalists as high as they are these days, I imagine competition for fellowships isn’t what it was just a few years ago. This advice could be overkill. Worked for me though.

But more important than all of the above, focus on becoming an excellent general anesthesiologist. You may not match a fellowship and all you’ll have to fall back on is your residency training.

 

[Bertelman]

Find an attending, or former resident, with connections. That’s how 3/5 of us hit cardiac fellowships