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I did on the day of. Did you hear yet?
Love how this thread just went stone cold dead haha
Official 2015-2016 Cardiology Fellowship Application Cycle
- Thread starter gutonc
- Start date
I did on the day of. Did you hear yet?
Love how this thread just went stone cold dead haha
Greetings, I know this might not be the best place for this, but I would be grateful if anyone would give me their 2 cents. I'm currently a medical student from a south american country, aiming to do IM in the states and then Cards. I'm currently preparing for the step 1 and I think I'll get a good score, I'm also beggining some reasearch about Chagas disease (something cards related) and I'm pursuing 3-mo electives after finishing my last year, preferably in Harvard and Yale as I've heard from people who managed a position. My question is: what could increase my chances as a visa requiring IMG to match in cards? I know that research and an university based IM program are cornerstones, but could you give me any aditional suggestion about it? What's the general profile of an IMG that matches in cards? I really appreciate any sort of help.
If you match in a strong internal medicine residency with a good cards fellowship placement then you are on your way to cards. Otherwise strong letters from known cardiologists, publications will help you
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Hey Guys,
Congrats to all who matched. What are you guys thinking about studying before fellowship starts in July. Echo, EKG, CCU? please discuss.
Congrats to all who matched. What are you guys thinking about studying before fellowship starts in July. Echo, EKG, CCU? please discuss.
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Hey guys, was cleaning up my files and found this interview experiences I recorded during the match cycle of 2014, may be will be helpful for future applicants. Here it goes:
1. Hartford Hospital, CT
- 800+ beds, with cardiac transplant program (15-20 per year), strong LVAD, heart failure fellowship and interventional fellowship (3) available on site.
- fellows live in West Hartford
- A very nice and friendly environment, 4 fellows per year.
- can easily get level 2 in ECHO and Nuclear (have PET, strong emphasis on nuclear, though since Dr. Heller left, there has been a problem)
- possible to do level 2 in CTA, but could be challenging
- very weak MRI program, ran by radiologist, likely level 1 at max.
- can get level 2 in vascular, but likely need to sacrifice most of the elective for that.
- good EP program but for general fellow mostly basic idea
- to get level 3 in anything, will need to use all 3rd year elective s for that.
- calls are front-loaded (50+ 1st year, 26-30 2nd year, 13 3rd year), can be hit or miss. Home calls.
- lots of PA catheters, some TVPs, good TEE experience
- lots of recent faculty change, which doesn't seem favorable to fellows
- 2000$ conference allowance/year, 1000$ educational stipend can use for anything.
- have great simulation lab. Free gym on the site. So-so on-call rooms. Not a very good cafeteria.
- not a good neighborhood around the hospital, but nice suburbs available
- 100,000+ city.
- ~ 2 hours from Boston, NYC. 30-40 min from New Haven
2. Guthrie Hospital, PA
- 250-bed hospital, small, friendly, 2 fellows/year, fellows are mostly local.
- very rural area, no big cities in 1 hour distance; terrible housing (very old)
- has IM Residency on site (9 per year) who are involved with fellows
- no heart failure, no transplant, no TAVR, CT surgery - only valves/CABG
- shared ICU/CCU with 3-4 pts tops on cardio service.
- had 1 graduating class, went into advanced fellowships
- good number of procedures, a lot of autonomy
- very little experience with MRI, but better with CTA
- no peripheral imaging
- most strength in EP and interventions
- majority of stress tests are stress echo (80%), much less exposure to nucs.
- educational stipend, other perks; fellows are well taken care of.
3. St. Luke's University Health Network, PA
- 350-bed hospital. In very nice area, 1 hour to Philadelphia and NYC
- friendly environment, very nice PD
- 2 fellows per year, will have first graduating fellow this year
- good number of procedures
- have MRI run by cardio, no peripheral imaging
- have CT, but low numbers
- will likely have advanced imaging fellowship
- will soon have Anderson hospital taking over the fellowship with more amenities
- no HF, no VADs, but do TAVR and other structural things
- small educational stipend - 400$/year, meal allowance. 1 conf/year (2,3rd years only, unless presenting)
- no dedicated CCU yet, only few pts in ICUs
- no organized schedule, lectures are very vague; but seem to shape curriculum to accommodate fellow interest
- q4 call in first year and q8 in 2nd and 3rd, weekends divided within fellows, so almost always work one of the weekend days.
- few STEMIs
- nicotine-free policy
4. Buffalo University, NY
- 800+ bed hospital with VA where fellows go for clinic (every other week) and other rotations
- city is dead, very few things to do.
- 4 fellows per year. Have no advanced fellowships, seem to be an old program but not really interested in expanding.
- 15 cath labs, very hands on, large number of procedures. No interventional fellows.
- do have an MRI and CT but mostly level I.
- do not cover STEMI, no need to come for stat echos.
- strange call system, depending on rotations, no Qsomething calls. Apparently not terrible lay busy
- no TAVR, no VADs, heart failure generally lacking.
5. University of Cincinnati, OH
-700 bed hospital with VA where fellows do rotations during the first year and also every other week continuity clinic.
- 4-5 fellows per year.
- strong imaging. EP less hands-on as other places. generally less hands on as has advanced fellows who do most of it. Several fellows at the same time in Cath lab.
- No specific educational stipend, but get Mayo DVD, great library.
- no meal allowance.
- fellows usually live in Hyde park with rent around (750$ and above)
- good numbers of ECHO, including TEE, Nuclear, expanding MRI and CT programs, with future imaging fellowship.
- night float system (1 month/year, plus some random nights)
- 12 bed CCU, new CCU being built.
- a lot of didactics. Have to come in for stat echos, cover All services on night float. Have HF fellow, interventional fellow and EP fellow.
- get to do a lot of swans and TVPs, also good number of pericardiocentesis.
- large focus on research, which will get even more as time goes
- have great MRI ( will have total of 3 by the next year, do 600 studies a year now), do have a CT, PET/CT.
- vascular imaging is not available currently, but likely will be in the future if there is interest; it is under vascular.
6. Cooper University Hospital, Camden, NJ
- big hospital, located in Camden, about 10-15 min from Philadelphia.
- nice PD who is doing mostly basic research in shock (he is also CC trained)
- 4 fellows per year, have women, have 2 interventional fellows and 1 EP fellow.
- imaging is a weakest side of the program with few MRI and CT done, but have access to vascular imaging
- 2000$ educational stipend/year, 60$/month for meals. Do get meals during most conferences. Salary in low 50,000.
- fellows have no problem with numbers for echo/tee, cath, nuclears, but seemed worse than other places to me.
- have lectures, good number.
- no heart failure, and no VADs either
- 12 bed open CCU with some overflow. a lot of things are done by CC and not cardiology, including stat TVPs, very strong CC program
- have privat cardiology group with which they don't interact at all and never take care of their patients, don't read echos several days a week too
- nuclear studies in the hospital are read by radiology, only read outpatient studies.
- front loaded call system, with calls seemed to be terrible sometimes.
7. Carilion Clinic/ Virginia Tech
- 850-bed hospital with 7 cath labs, doing TAVI. In south east Virginia.
- about 100,000 people southern town, low cost of leaving ( 1 bedroom about 600-800$)
- 3 years old but already have 2 interventional positions, soon EP, very dedicated faculty, mostly from around the area.
- 3 fellows per year, soon 4.
- very high volume place with no problems with numbers at all, good level of authonomy
- very busy inpatient and consult services, less busy CCU.
- heart failure is a little weak with few VADs which they started doing this year. no transplant
- have CTA and MRI but not very strong, working on it, have possibilities to do away elective in MRI at nearby institutions.
- go to VA only for imaging and cath.
- have 2 months of research every year.
- have sufficient amount of lectures, good number of procedures.
- call system about 1/9, have 24 in house call, which is very busy. Do have their own service with admissions and discharges, but have help from mid-level and residents most of the time.
- cover STEMIs together with interventional fellows
8. Cook County Hospital, Chicago
-450 bed county hospital with about 80% of patients being uninsured, all insured pt are at Rush.
- do have strong collaboration with Rush, do EP there and CCU + nuclear
- 3 fellows per year, but 6 fellows of Rush do rotate at course at county too
- only 2 cath labs without any advance things, low volume. No EP at all
- fellows claim to get all there numbers but questionable, CCU is not busy at all, no VADs, do have ballon pumps, low STEMI volume
- low salary, but do get paid for weekend calls (about 10,000$ extra a year)
- do have a very nice faculty, very strong ekg training
- no heart failure at all.
- stress tests without a tech. Do claim to have a lot of authonomy in procedures.
- clinic is very busy, but fellows now don't see more than 10 pt in 1/2 day session.
- meal allowance 19$/call
- all cardiologist are hospital employed, no private group
- not much exposure to CT or MRI, no vascular studies
9. Christiana Hospital, Delaware
- 1100 bed hospital, with 8 cath labs, 4 EP labs. Doing TAVI, VADs. No transplant but good heart failure. Very big catch man area, very good volume.
- 18 bed combined CCU, CTICU. Usually have about 8 pt in CCU, do take care of VAD patients, do Impella, baloon pumps
- 4 fellows per year, have 2 interventional fellows, and 1 heart failure fellow
- good authonomy in most procedures, very good numbers. in EP though very poor autonomy.
- many private cardiology groups, but seems like most of them are devoted to teaching
- fellows also do 3 months in 3 years in VA and also several months in Willmington hospital their they have their own service.
- on call 1st years, q1 week + 1 weekend/month, home call, but cover 2 hospitals. 2nd and 3rd years have invasive and non-invasive calls, and do 1 weekend/2 months.
- do have 2000 educational stipend, can go to hopkins for CTA course
- PD is mostly researcher, and helps fellows with projects. 1 month research/year
- can easily do level 2 in cath/echo/nuclear + vascular studies and even CTA, all together. Can get level 3 echo, sacrificing some other rotations.
- fellows opinions a heard and changes made appropriately. Fellows seem very happy
- have EMR, very clinic has different one (don't really have fellow clinic but go to private cardiologists offices mostly
- hospital EMR is not full, notes at written, H&P and discharges are dictated
- on call days can be busy, but generally manageable
- hospital nuclears are ran by radiology, but seems that fellows have no issues learning from them
- do have MRI and CT but not much used.
- do not cover stat Echo
10. Danbury Hospital
- 450 bed hospital with 2 cath labs (doing EP ablations and TAVR - just started) in Danbury, old town with creepy downtown.
- 2 fellows per year
- 20 bed ICU, no dedicated CCU
- have consult service no cardiac service, but going to add one in next couple months
- no VAD experience, not many advanced things
- one hospital only, fellows are very relaxed and happy. No advanced fellows
- get good numbers, except for tee, which happens very early in am and fellows are at conference. Very little authonomy in EP
- daily conferences. Calls are q6-7days first 2 years and 1 full weekend in a month, but 3rd years have nearly no calls
- have 6 months for research in 2nd year, which fellows use not truly for research, no help from faculty in finding projects or mentoring. Pay 5000$ per fellow for this
- hospital EMR is not full, outpatient is full.
- can get level to in echo and nuclear without problems. Nuc ran by cardiology.
- MRI is very weak but just got new software and planning to expend use
- hospital doesn't need fellows for anything, if you are interested you will get exposure, but if you are not, nobody will care
- calls can be busy but ok.
- 2 cardio groups, one is hospital employed, the other is private, fellows work with both
1. Hartford Hospital, CT
- 800+ beds, with cardiac transplant program (15-20 per year), strong LVAD, heart failure fellowship and interventional fellowship (3) available on site.
- fellows live in West Hartford
- A very nice and friendly environment, 4 fellows per year.
- can easily get level 2 in ECHO and Nuclear (have PET, strong emphasis on nuclear, though since Dr. Heller left, there has been a problem)
- possible to do level 2 in CTA, but could be challenging
- very weak MRI program, ran by radiologist, likely level 1 at max.
- can get level 2 in vascular, but likely need to sacrifice most of the elective for that.
- good EP program but for general fellow mostly basic idea
- to get level 3 in anything, will need to use all 3rd year elective s for that.
- calls are front-loaded (50+ 1st year, 26-30 2nd year, 13 3rd year), can be hit or miss. Home calls.
- lots of PA catheters, some TVPs, good TEE experience
- lots of recent faculty change, which doesn't seem favorable to fellows
- 2000$ conference allowance/year, 1000$ educational stipend can use for anything.
- have great simulation lab. Free gym on the site. So-so on-call rooms. Not a very good cafeteria.
- not a good neighborhood around the hospital, but nice suburbs available
- 100,000+ city.
- ~ 2 hours from Boston, NYC. 30-40 min from New Haven
2. Guthrie Hospital, PA
- 250-bed hospital, small, friendly, 2 fellows/year, fellows are mostly local.
- very rural area, no big cities in 1 hour distance; terrible housing (very old)
- has IM Residency on site (9 per year) who are involved with fellows
- no heart failure, no transplant, no TAVR, CT surgery - only valves/CABG
- shared ICU/CCU with 3-4 pts tops on cardio service.
- had 1 graduating class, went into advanced fellowships
- good number of procedures, a lot of autonomy
- very little experience with MRI, but better with CTA
- no peripheral imaging
- most strength in EP and interventions
- majority of stress tests are stress echo (80%), much less exposure to nucs.
- educational stipend, other perks; fellows are well taken care of.
3. St. Luke's University Health Network, PA
- 350-bed hospital. In very nice area, 1 hour to Philadelphia and NYC
- friendly environment, very nice PD
- 2 fellows per year, will have first graduating fellow this year
- good number of procedures
- have MRI run by cardio, no peripheral imaging
- have CT, but low numbers
- will likely have advanced imaging fellowship
- will soon have Anderson hospital taking over the fellowship with more amenities
- no HF, no VADs, but do TAVR and other structural things
- small educational stipend - 400$/year, meal allowance. 1 conf/year (2,3rd years only, unless presenting)
- no dedicated CCU yet, only few pts in ICUs
- no organized schedule, lectures are very vague; but seem to shape curriculum to accommodate fellow interest
- q4 call in first year and q8 in 2nd and 3rd, weekends divided within fellows, so almost always work one of the weekend days.
- few STEMIs
- nicotine-free policy
4. Buffalo University, NY
- 800+ bed hospital with VA where fellows go for clinic (every other week) and other rotations
- city is dead, very few things to do.
- 4 fellows per year. Have no advanced fellowships, seem to be an old program but not really interested in expanding.
- 15 cath labs, very hands on, large number of procedures. No interventional fellows.
- do have an MRI and CT but mostly level I.
- do not cover STEMI, no need to come for stat echos.
- strange call system, depending on rotations, no Qsomething calls. Apparently not terrible lay busy
- no TAVR, no VADs, heart failure generally lacking.
5. University of Cincinnati, OH
-700 bed hospital with VA where fellows do rotations during the first year and also every other week continuity clinic.
- 4-5 fellows per year.
- strong imaging. EP less hands-on as other places. generally less hands on as has advanced fellows who do most of it. Several fellows at the same time in Cath lab.
- No specific educational stipend, but get Mayo DVD, great library.
- no meal allowance.
- fellows usually live in Hyde park with rent around (750$ and above)
- good numbers of ECHO, including TEE, Nuclear, expanding MRI and CT programs, with future imaging fellowship.
- night float system (1 month/year, plus some random nights)
- 12 bed CCU, new CCU being built.
- a lot of didactics. Have to come in for stat echos, cover All services on night float. Have HF fellow, interventional fellow and EP fellow.
- get to do a lot of swans and TVPs, also good number of pericardiocentesis.
- large focus on research, which will get even more as time goes
- have great MRI ( will have total of 3 by the next year, do 600 studies a year now), do have a CT, PET/CT.
- vascular imaging is not available currently, but likely will be in the future if there is interest; it is under vascular.
6. Cooper University Hospital, Camden, NJ
- big hospital, located in Camden, about 10-15 min from Philadelphia.
- nice PD who is doing mostly basic research in shock (he is also CC trained)
- 4 fellows per year, have women, have 2 interventional fellows and 1 EP fellow.
- imaging is a weakest side of the program with few MRI and CT done, but have access to vascular imaging
- 2000$ educational stipend/year, 60$/month for meals. Do get meals during most conferences. Salary in low 50,000.
- fellows have no problem with numbers for echo/tee, cath, nuclears, but seemed worse than other places to me.
- have lectures, good number.
- no heart failure, and no VADs either
- 12 bed open CCU with some overflow. a lot of things are done by CC and not cardiology, including stat TVPs, very strong CC program
- have privat cardiology group with which they don't interact at all and never take care of their patients, don't read echos several days a week too
- nuclear studies in the hospital are read by radiology, only read outpatient studies.
- front loaded call system, with calls seemed to be terrible sometimes.
7. Carilion Clinic/ Virginia Tech
- 850-bed hospital with 7 cath labs, doing TAVI. In south east Virginia.
- about 100,000 people southern town, low cost of leaving ( 1 bedroom about 600-800$)
- 3 years old but already have 2 interventional positions, soon EP, very dedicated faculty, mostly from around the area.
- 3 fellows per year, soon 4.
- very high volume place with no problems with numbers at all, good level of authonomy
- very busy inpatient and consult services, less busy CCU.
- heart failure is a little weak with few VADs which they started doing this year. no transplant
- have CTA and MRI but not very strong, working on it, have possibilities to do away elective in MRI at nearby institutions.
- go to VA only for imaging and cath.
- have 2 months of research every year.
- have sufficient amount of lectures, good number of procedures.
- call system about 1/9, have 24 in house call, which is very busy. Do have their own service with admissions and discharges, but have help from mid-level and residents most of the time.
- cover STEMIs together with interventional fellows
8. Cook County Hospital, Chicago
-450 bed county hospital with about 80% of patients being uninsured, all insured pt are at Rush.
- do have strong collaboration with Rush, do EP there and CCU + nuclear
- 3 fellows per year, but 6 fellows of Rush do rotate at course at county too
- only 2 cath labs without any advance things, low volume. No EP at all
- fellows claim to get all there numbers but questionable, CCU is not busy at all, no VADs, do have ballon pumps, low STEMI volume
- low salary, but do get paid for weekend calls (about 10,000$ extra a year)
- do have a very nice faculty, very strong ekg training
- no heart failure at all.
- stress tests without a tech. Do claim to have a lot of authonomy in procedures.
- clinic is very busy, but fellows now don't see more than 10 pt in 1/2 day session.
- meal allowance 19$/call
- all cardiologist are hospital employed, no private group
- not much exposure to CT or MRI, no vascular studies
9. Christiana Hospital, Delaware
- 1100 bed hospital, with 8 cath labs, 4 EP labs. Doing TAVI, VADs. No transplant but good heart failure. Very big catch man area, very good volume.
- 18 bed combined CCU, CTICU. Usually have about 8 pt in CCU, do take care of VAD patients, do Impella, baloon pumps
- 4 fellows per year, have 2 interventional fellows, and 1 heart failure fellow
- good authonomy in most procedures, very good numbers. in EP though very poor autonomy.
- many private cardiology groups, but seems like most of them are devoted to teaching
- fellows also do 3 months in 3 years in VA and also several months in Willmington hospital their they have their own service.
- on call 1st years, q1 week + 1 weekend/month, home call, but cover 2 hospitals. 2nd and 3rd years have invasive and non-invasive calls, and do 1 weekend/2 months.
- do have 2000 educational stipend, can go to hopkins for CTA course
- PD is mostly researcher, and helps fellows with projects. 1 month research/year
- can easily do level 2 in cath/echo/nuclear + vascular studies and even CTA, all together. Can get level 3 echo, sacrificing some other rotations.
- fellows opinions a heard and changes made appropriately. Fellows seem very happy
- have EMR, very clinic has different one (don't really have fellow clinic but go to private cardiologists offices mostly
- hospital EMR is not full, notes at written, H&P and discharges are dictated
- on call days can be busy, but generally manageable
- hospital nuclears are ran by radiology, but seems that fellows have no issues learning from them
- do have MRI and CT but not much used.
- do not cover stat Echo
10. Danbury Hospital
- 450 bed hospital with 2 cath labs (doing EP ablations and TAVR - just started) in Danbury, old town with creepy downtown.
- 2 fellows per year
- 20 bed ICU, no dedicated CCU
- have consult service no cardiac service, but going to add one in next couple months
- no VAD experience, not many advanced things
- one hospital only, fellows are very relaxed and happy. No advanced fellows
- get good numbers, except for tee, which happens very early in am and fellows are at conference. Very little authonomy in EP
- daily conferences. Calls are q6-7days first 2 years and 1 full weekend in a month, but 3rd years have nearly no calls
- have 6 months for research in 2nd year, which fellows use not truly for research, no help from faculty in finding projects or mentoring. Pay 5000$ per fellow for this
- hospital EMR is not full, outpatient is full.
- can get level to in echo and nuclear without problems. Nuc ran by cardiology.
- MRI is very weak but just got new software and planning to expend use
- hospital doesn't need fellows for anything, if you are interested you will get exposure, but if you are not, nobody will care
- calls can be busy but ok.
- 2 cardio groups, one is hospital employed, the other is private, fellows work with both
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If you haven't done abim internal medicine exam yet then focus on that becos u might not get time to study when u start fellowship.
As long as you know how to read basic ekgs and know the bread and butter of cardiology (afib nstemi heart failure etc ) then u shd be good. U will learn very quickly. Knowing the echo views and structures would be a good bonus.
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thanks man
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I eagerly await the fellowship cycle 2017 thread
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Hey guys, it was a long run, but we got here. Good luck in your fellowships and will see you in the meetings. It's go time!
