Cardiology Fellowship Interest

[Moogash]

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Hey all,

I am currently an IM intern at a large academic institution. I just finished my CVICU rotation, and I think I have fallen in love with cardiology. The physiology and intellectual challenge are incredibly appealing to me, plus I really like how procedurally competent all of the fellows are regarding lines and critical care (at least at my institution). I feel like cardiology would challenge me to become the best physician I can be (I realize this probably sounds very naive and idealistic, but I am an intern).

My questions for the group are:

1) What makes a good cardiology fellowship applicant? My goal is general cardiology, I don't really want to do any further training beyond that (maybe imaging, but not experienced enough to know at this point).

2) How many programs does one apply to? I am trying to gauge a sense of "competitiveness," but I really have no idea. I am planning to start getting involved in as much research as I can (regarding topics I actually care about) now that I am starting to feel mildly competent clinically. I am fortunate that there are abundant research opportunities at my institution and plenty of great mentors around.

Any advice is appreciated.

 

[cardsguy2017]

Good board scores, good residency, good LORs and some extra-curriculars. Being AMG helps too. How many to apply depends on your competitiveness. I think a minimum would be 25-30, the less competitive your app the more you apply to. It's somewhat a crapshoot where you get interviews so hard to say.

 

[MyTachyBradyHeart]

Hey all,

I am currently an IM intern at a large academic institution. I just finished my CVICU rotation, and I think I have fallen in love with cardiology. The physiology and intellectual challenge are incredibly appealing to me, plus I really like how procedurally competent all of the fellows are regarding lines and critical care (at least at my institution). I feel like cardiology would challenge me to become the best physician I can be (I realize this probably sounds very naive and idealistic, but I am an intern).

My questions for the group are:

1) What makes a good cardiology fellowship applicant? My goal is general cardiology, I don't really want to do any further training beyond that (maybe imaging, but not experienced enough to know at this point).

2) How many programs does one apply to? I am trying to gauge a sense of "competitiveness," but I really have no idea. I am planning to start getting involved in as much research as I can (regarding topics I actually care about) now that I am starting to feel mildly competent clinically. I am fortunate that there are abundant research opportunities at my institution and plenty of great mentors around.

Any advice is appreciated.

Welcome to the club. It appears your interest in cardiology is for all the right reasons. If you want to feel procedurally competent, wait until after a single cath rotation.

1) A good cardiology fellowship applicant generally:
- Goes to a good IM residency
- Performs well clinically (i.e. good PD and clinical LOR)
- Does research and takes it to completion (abstract/oral presentation at national meetings and/or manuscripts completed and submitted by time of application)
- Leadership activities or interesting extracurriculars or just devotion to/passion for something outside of your clinical work
- No other red flags (i.e. below average step scores, remediation during medical school, etc)

2) Cardiology is competitive. If you go to a top 20 IM program, have publications, and good letters, 15 should be enough if you target appropriately. If you go to a mid-tier program, have abstracts/presentations but no publications, and good letters, you should aim for 30-40+ as you will need to cast a wider net.

Talking to cardiology mentors, seeing what connections they have at other institutions, and talking to fellows who have matched in cardiology from your institution also helps. Also, helps to meet with cardiology PD at your institution during your 2nd year to discuss application strategies (and to gauge whether you'd be a good fit internally) is helpful.

 

[shouldigomd]

My 2 cents after completing my interview trail and comparing to my fellow peer applicants and those I met on the trail... Coming from mid tier university program.

Levels of importance in my opinion. During residency there are very limited objective means of measuring your performance. How good you are at procedures, how smart you are, how compassionate you are with your patients, etc etc .... can't really assess from LORs, scores, and a resume.

Top Tier: Prestige of your residency program, IMG vs AMG vs MD vs DO, personal connections / networking
-the reality is that the most important features on your application are things you can't really change during residency. It is a sad but true reality. I came across many people from big name IM programs interviewing with me and had zero research. I had top board scores and solid research publications.
-the dynamics of each program are different but if you like your program and really want to stay I suggest snuggling up with the PD (aka research buddies) and being well seen in your cards department. Go to their conferences occasionally, make friends, etc.
-chief year: Spending a year as a glorified secretary does pay off and in my programs experience elevate the quality of interviews

Mid Tier
-research / awards / leadership. Research is important because it is really the main thing in your power that can elevate the quality of your application. I feel like most people have a couple case reports and 1-2 research publications. To take you to the next level you really have to invest a lot of time / energy and have a lot to show for it. A lot of this is being friendly and getting your name on whatever you can.
-Step 1/2 scores, med school transcript: they still matter
-Interview: Most interviews are average and everyone gets tired (both interviewers and interviewees). This is extremely subjective and I think a fantastic interview can help and a poor can hurt but the mid 20-80% probably doesn't matter much.

Low Tier
-LOR: I am sure people will argue this but the vast majority of LORs are good and relatively generic.I believe who writes your LOR is more important than the words themselves (unless bad things were written obviously). In my interview experience thats what I felt. PDs cared who wrote my letters and basically if was positive or negative.
-Step 3: nobody cares
-procedural skills
-actual quality of IM physician you are. Unless you are so terrible that it is blatantly obvious and have such bad ITE scores... This may differ for your home program where more word of mouth may go around.

Number of programs you apply to depends largely on your top tier qualities.
-AMG from mid to top tier program can apply smart to 5-20 programs and be fine
-IMG from low to mid tier program can apply to 50 and be screwed
-my advice would be to not be stingy and take a risk over 1-2 grand. I know people who didn't match over that and I can make that in 2 moonlighting sessions ....