Best CT fellowships?

[BIGphysician]

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Anyone have any idea of the best CT fellowships? Here are my factors in order of decreasing importance:

1. workload, less hours the better (less calls)- I want to learn alot, but not to the point of abuse
2. reputation of the program ("name")
3. location (pref not in the boondocks or the cold)
4. good mix of both pediatric and adult cases

Doing a combined CT and ICU fellowship does interest me, anyone have any thoughts on that? I dont want to do ICU in the future but it would be a nice experience and good to have on my resume. My end game goal is to just eventually have an easy lifestyle, working 40-50 hours a week, no call, in southern california. I'm thinking you probably need some serious credientials to get that job, a CT fellowship (with maybe even ICU) would help matters.

 

[deleted87051]

Anyone have any idea of the best CT fellowships? Here are my factors in order of decreasing importance:

1. workload, less hours the better (less calls)- I want to learn alot, but not to the point of abuse
2. reputation of the program ("name")
3. location (pref not in the boondocks or the cold)
4. good mix of both pediatric and adult cases

Doing a combined CT and ICU fellowship does interest me, anyone have any thoughts on that? I dont want to do ICU in the future but it would be a nice experience and good to have on my resume. My end game goal is to just eventually have an easy lifestyle, working 40-50 hours a week, no call, in southern california. I'm thinking you probably need some serious credientials to get that job, a CT fellowship (with maybe even ICU) would help matters.

You don't need any fellowship to get a lifestyle job in SoCal. And if you want to do hearts, you're going to take call.

 

[urge]

Anyone have any idea of the best CT fellowships? Here are my factors in order of decreasing importance:

1. workload, less hours the better (less calls)- I want to learn alot, but not to the point of abuse
2. reputation of the program ("name")
3. location (pref not in the boondocks or the cold)
4. good mix of both pediatric and adult cases

Doing a combined CT and ICU fellowship does interest me, anyone have any thoughts on that? I dont want to do ICU in the future but it would be a nice experience and good to have on my resume. My end game goal is to just eventually have an easy lifestyle, working 40-50 hours a week, no call, in southern california. I'm thinking you probably need some serious credientials to get that job, a CT fellowship (with maybe even ICU) would help matters.

You should look into ambulatory type jobs, not cardiac.

 

[imfrankie]

A few years ago the CT anesthesia fellowships at Yale and at West Penn were no call.

 

[SouthSideSteve]

CT without call????

what?

 

[Mman]

you aren't going to find a good job that involves no call unless it's an ambulatory setting. Every hospital in the country requires call. If you aren't taking the call, you aren't getting paid.

 

[BIGphysician]

I want to be fellowship trained in CT, but not do just that and have a good lifestyle. Can someone give me a step-by-step for that?

 

[bawer234]

I'm also applying CV. I am looking for the best possible educational experience and not necessarily a cushy ride.

For the cardiac guys in fellowship now and out practice:

What kinds of things did/do you value the most in a cardiac fellowship? What are the kinds of things you would look for in particular if you were to go back and do one today? Case #'s, fellows doing their own cases w/o residents, ect?

 

[pie944]

I want to be fellowship trained in CT, but not do just that and have a good lifestyle. Can someone give me a step-by-step for that?

So great taste and no calories?

 

[seinfeld]

CT without call?? They never have emergency cases that take 4-5 hours to complete

 

[deleted171991]

CT without call?? They never have emergency cases that take 4-5 hours to complete

Or they do them with residents.

I guess this is more frequent in small CT programs (1-2 fellows).

 

[krodUT]

I'm a current fellow at the Texas Heart Institute in Houston.

1. Case variety - you'll get everything; tons of thoracoabdominal aneurysms +/- CSF drains (Coselli is apparently the world's busiest aortic surgeon), CABG's, valves, VADs, heart transplants, lung transplants, LVAD's (HMII and HW), TAH's, TAVR's, thoracic (Sugarbaker from the Brigham set up sip here last summer) and just about whatever else you can think of. The surgeons are fast.
2. 12 ORs (10 regular + 2 hydride rooms), 10 cath labs (although only 2-3 are doing cases with anesthesia)
3. 10 fellows, 8 residents (6 Baylor, 2 UT Houston); all doing their own cases
4. Plenty of cases to go around, that's never an issue
5. 2 really good AA's that do all the pre-ops and round on the epicurals
6. Call? 1st call is a resident 100% of the time and they're always in house. 2nd call is a resident thats last to leave. 3rd call is a fellow that's the last to leave for a fellow level case (about 90% of the time that's between 6 and 10PM); only once have I worked overnight. Average about 4 weekday calls a month
7. You'll be busy and but somehow I feel like we average in the mid 50 hours/week. How? Well we're busy but our surgeons are incredibly fast. You'll regularly do a CABG or am AVR and be out of the room by 9:45. Do the math and you can easily do 2-3 pump cases a day. A VAD is usually on the 4 hr range.
8. As a whole I would describe the place as a cardiothoracic, vascular and transplant fellowship.
9. The whole year you're only on call on the weekends when you chose to moonlight (extra $$$). This means you'll work around 12 weekend days a year +/- depending on how many moonlighting shifts you choose to take.
10. Overall schedule: 6 months OR, 2 months TEE, 1 month perfusion/cardiology, 1 month thoracic at MD Anderson, 1 month peds hearts at Texas Childrens, 1 month ICU

Overall, I feel like we have a great balance between case variety and lifestyle. I work less than I did in residency but at the same time feel like I am learning way more than I ever could have as a resident. Strong didactics, incredible attendings, etc. Just my two cents since I know the SDN forums lack good info on the CV fellowships.

 

[anes]

Anyone have any idea of the best CT fellowships? Here are my factors in order of decreasing importance:

1. workload, less hours the better (less calls)- I want to learn alot, but not to the point of abuse
2. reputation of the program ("name")
3. location (pref not in the boondocks or the cold)
4. good mix of both pediatric and adult cases

Doing a combined CT and ICU fellowship does interest me, anyone have any thoughts on that? I dont want to do ICU in the future but it would be a nice experience and good to have on my resume. My end game goal is to just eventually have an easy lifestyle, working 40-50 hours a week, no call, in southern california. I'm thinking you probably need some serious credientials to get that job, a CT fellowship (with maybe even ICU) would help matters.

If you want to be in socal, the best thing to do is fellowship in socal. Best cardiac fellowship in the area is probably ucsd. You work extremely hard at cedars sinai, usc, and ucla. Not sure about Loma Linda. Best clinical experience maybe at cedars (most heart transplants in the country, lots of vads, tah, ecmo, mitral e-clips,) but the academics are severely lacking.

 

[bawer234]

I'm a current fellow at the Texas Heart Institute in Houston.

1. Case variety - you'll get everything; tons of thoracoabdominal aneurysms +/- CSF drains (Coselli is apparently the world's busiest aortic surgeon), CABG's, valves, VADs, heart transplants, lung transplants, LVAD's (HMII and HW), TAH's, TAVR's, thoracic (Sugarbaker from the Brigham set up sip here last summer) and just about whatever else you can think of. The surgeons are fast.
2. 12 ORs (10 regular + 2 hydride rooms), 10 cath labs (although only 2-3 are doing cases with anesthesia)
3. 10 fellows, 8 residents (6 Baylor, 2 UT Houston); all doing their own cases
4. Plenty of cases to go around, that's never an issue
5. 2 really good AA's that do all the pre-ops and round on the epicurals
6. Call? 1st call is a resident 100% of the time and they're always in house. 2nd call is a resident thats last to leave. 3rd call is a fellow that's the last to leave for a fellow level case (about 90% of the time that's between 6 and 10PM); only once have I worked overnight. Average about 4 weekday calls a month
7. You'll be busy and but somehow I feel like we average in the mid 50 hours/week. How? Well we're busy but our surgeons are incredibly fast. You'll regularly do a CABG or am AVR and be out of the room by 9:45. Do the math and you can easily do 2-3 pump cases a day. A VAD is usually on the 4 hr range.
8. As a whole I would describe the place as a cardiothoracic, vascular and transplant fellowship.
9. The whole year you're only on call on the weekends when you chose to moonlight (extra $$$). This means you'll work around 12 weekend days a year +/- depending on how many moonlighting shifts you choose to take.
10. Overall schedule: 6 months OR, 2 months TEE, 1 month perfusion/cardiology, 1 month thoracic at MD Anderson, 1 month peds hearts at Texas Childrens, 1 month ICU

Overall, I feel like we have a great balance between case variety and lifestyle. I work less than I did in residency but at the same time feel like I am learning way more than I ever could have as a resident. Strong didactics, incredible attendings, etc. Just my two cents since I know the SDN forums lack good info on the CV fellowships.

Do you feel like you see less problems coming off pump b/c of the shorter pump times and do you think that's a detriment in any way to the education?

 

[gasknight]

How's private practice CT anesthesia? Do you typically sit your own cases?

 

[Direct Laryngoscopy]

How's private practice CT anesthesia? Do you typically sit your own cases?

All types of models out there. My co-fellows are in practice where they perform the cardiac cases themselves and supervise all other cases, Supervise CRNAs for all cases (a cardiac and vascular/thoracic or another cardiac room), academics or personally perform all cases myself.

 

[deleted87051]

Do you feel like you see less problems coming off pump b/c of the shorter pump times and do you think that's a detriment in any way to the education?

I work with a perfusionist who trained there. He said he had to relearn everything. Haha

 

[krodUT]

Do you feel like you see less problems coming off pump b/c of the shorter pump times and do you think that's a detriment in any way to the education?

Not a problem. You'll do enough ascending, hemi-arch, total arch, circ arrest cases and low EF pts that you'll eventually struggle coming off pump, crash on, do the ECMO dance, etc.

 

[SouthSideSteve]

Well we're busy but our surgeons are incredibly fast. You'll regularly do a CABG or am AVR and be out of the room by 9:45. Do the math and you can easily do 2-3 pump cases a day. A VAD is usually on the 4 hr range.

I miss Ott, Duncan, & Mallidi.

 

[bawer234]

I miss Ott, Duncan, & Mallidi.

No love for Coselli?