Welcome
Goals of the Fellowship Program
The Division of Cardiology maintains both clinical and research training programs. The primary purpose of the clinical fellowship is to prepare physicians previously trained in internal medicine for the four major areas of cardiology practice:
- Inpatient and outpatient clinical service and consultation.
- Invasive cardiology including diagnostic catheterization, intervention procedures, and electrophysiology.
- Intensive Care Cardiology.
- Noninvasive cardiology, including echocardiography. Doppler studies, and nuclear techniques.
With a strong background in internal medicine, a great deal of competence in most of these areas can be achieved during the routine fellowship period, although for some such as interventional cardiology and electrophysiology, additional training is required. A fourth year of specialized training in these and other areas are encouraged but not required.
The primary purpose of the research fellowship is to develop additional expertise in a specific area of basic or clinical research. Most fellows entering the training program will participate in both clinical and research training. This will ordinarily require four years of training. Others, having had prior fellowship training in clinical cardiology, will enter the program as research fellow.
Overview of the Program
The first two years of the clinical program are designed to provide comprehensive training that will serve as the foundation to build on. First year fellows rotate through the Clinical Service at Harper University Hospital, which includes the Cardiac Care Unit, Cardiology Floor, and Consultative Service. Diagnostic cardiac catheterization skills are also acquired in the Harper University Hospital Cardiac Catheterization laboratory. Noninvasive training during the first years takes place at both Harper University Hospital and the Veterans Administration Medical Center. This includes echocardiography, Doppler echocardiography, exercise testing, nuclear cardiology, and special techniques.
During this first year, supervision and teaching are designed to build the framework for continued growth during the second year of training.
The second year of the fellowship program is oriented to provide the trainee with greater independence and responsibility. The second year fellow will rotate through the Clinical Service at Detroit Receiving Hospital and function as the primary team leader. Diagnostic cardiac catheterization skills are further advanced at the Veterans Administration Medical Center. During the second year, the fellows rotate through the Electrophysiology Service and are actively involved in the Electrophysiology Laboratory as well as clinical arrhythmia management and consultation. Trainees will also rotate through the Pediatric Services at Children’s Hospital of Michigan for comprehensive exposure to congenital heart disease and pediatric cardiology, and further emphasis on nuclear techniques.
The third year is designed to prepare the trainee for a productive career in cardiology. Most of the third year is elective. There is the opportunity for continued training in the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory, Noninvasive Laboratory including Nuclear Cardiology, and Clinical Service at the level of a junior faculty member. A trainee may focus on developing skills as a clinical or basic investigator or developing further in-depth skills in a particular aspect of clinical cardiology.
Extensive opportunities are available in the cardiovascular laboratories conducting research that translates basic investigation into the clinical realm. For trainees with a strong interest in fundamental investigation, there is the opportunity to spend one or more years in the program in Molecular and Cellular Cardiology, learning cellular molecular or biophysical approaches.
Specific clinical and/or research areas for concentration include the following:
- Echocardiography/Diagnostic Techniques
- Strain and strain rate imaging ( Tissue Doppler and 2 D strain)
- 3 D Echocardiography
- Myocardial contrast echocardiography
- Echocardiography/LV Remodeling
- Women’s Cardiovascular Health
- Management of Acute Ischemic Syndromes
- Interventional Cardiology/Restenosis
- Interventional Cardiology/Peripheral Angioplasty
- Clinical Cardiology/Adult Congenital Heart Disease
- Electrophysiology/Atrial and Ventricular Rhythm Management
- Electrophysiology/Ablations
- Electrophysiology/Devices
- Nuclear Cardiology/PET Imaging/EBCT
- Clinical Cardiology/Endocarditis
- Molecular Cardiology/Calcium Channel and Na/Ca Exchange
- Cardiac Electrophysiology/Potassium Channels
- Cardiac Cell Biology/Calcium Regulating Proteins
- Vascular Molecular Biology/Smooth Muscle Determination
- Cardiac Physiology/Ischemic Preconditioning
- Cardiac Cell Biology Cytoskeleton
- Molecular Biology/Mitochondrial Proteins
Each fellow will inherit the cardiology practice from a graduating fellow. The trainee will have office hours at the University Health Center one half day per week and will see both new patients as well as return visits. Cardiology faculty members provide staff supervision for the Fellows’ clinic.
Application Information
Applications are accepted through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS). Applications must include the ERAS application form, curriculum vitae, three references (including one from the IM program director), and USMLE scores (all three steps must be completed for the application to be considered).
Applications for Cardiology must be submitted by July 31 through ERAS. Applications received or incomplete after this date will not be considered.
Please note that at present, the DMC does Not sponsor H-1B and J-1 visas; therefore, we will not consider applications from physicians with this visa types. Applicants with Green Cards /Citizenship are welcome to apply.