In This Section:

• Program Overview
• Objectives
• Program Organization
• Curriculum
• Required Conferences
• Teaching/Learning Activities
• Facilities
• Evaluation
• Support
• Benefits
• Recruitment

Program Overview

The goal of the Johns Hopkins Interventional Cardiology Training Program is to provide the highest quality training in the field of Interventional Cardiology. Trainees will develop and demonstrate competence in the clinical knowledge, procedural skills, clinical judgment, professionalism, and interpersonal skills required as a specialist in Interventional Cardiology. At the completion of the training program, the trainee will have acquired the competency to practice independently and contribute to the field

Trainees planning to perform coronary and other cardiovascular interventional procedures must develop a mastery of the indications, limitations and complications of these procedures as well as an in-depth understanding of the specialized equipment needs. In addition to training in coronary angioplasty, trainees must obtain specialized experience in the performance of specific interventional therapeutic and diagnostic procedures.

Objectives

Fellows receive training and supervised experience in the evaluation and management of a patients with a wide variety of acute and chronic cardiovascular conditions, including patients with the following cardiac conditions:

• Coronary artery disease
• Valvular heart disease
• Cardiomyopathy
• Pericardial disease
• Peripheral artery disease
• Adult congenital heart disease
• Aortic disease

Program Organization

This two-year program complies with all ACGME requirements, in addition to following the guidelines and recommendations of the American College of Cardiology (COCATS). The first training year is dedicated to learning coronary intervention and refining diagnostic catheterization skills. The second year is focused on learning structural heart interventions including valvular intervention (TAVR, TMVR, M-TEER, T-TEER, TTVR), PFO/ASD closure, alcohol septal ablation.

At the end of the training period, Fellows will be equipped with the knowledge, skills and abilities to meet the requirements for certification in interventional cardiovascular diseases, as determined by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Educational and the American Board of Internal Medicine.

Curriculum

During the duration of the two-year program, fellows are provided instruction and experience in patient care and management, diagnosis, the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease and related sciences: (See attached specific curriculum for specific curriculum information).

Required Conferences

All interventional fellows are required to attend the Morbidity and Mortality and Education Conference (M&M) on Thursday mornings, which includes case and film review, journal club, and quality improvement discussion.

Numerous other conferences are held on a continuing basis, including electrocardiogram conference, echo/imaging conference and subspecialty conferences in electrophysiology, interventional cardiology, preventive cardiology, and heart failure/transplantation. In addition, weekly Cardiology Grand Round, weekly Cardiac Surgery Case Conference, and monthly journal clubs are held. Fellows are encouraged to attend as interest and time allow.

Teaching/Learning Activities

All teaching activities are carried out by the faculty of The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Faculty members are all board certified in Cardiology and all key faculty are boarded in Interventional Cardiology. The ratio of key faculty to fellows is 2:1

All faculty are expected to demonstrate the highest standards of patient care, scholarship and clinical knowledge in their capacity as educators and role models for the trainees. Interventional Fellows will interact closely with the cardiovascular disease fellows as they rotate through the Interventional Cardiology service. Interventional Fellows will also maintain close working relationships with faculty and fellows in the Division of Cardiac Surgery and the medicine housestaff as well as colleagues in other departments in their role as consultative physicians. The will also work closely with radiation technologists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses and other staff in the division.

Interventional fellows also participate in a weekly outpatient clinic during the second year of their training with emphasis on evaluation of patient for structural and other interventional procedure. This important aspect of the training will allow interventional fellows to learn about patient selection and evaluation as well as post-procedure management and follow-up.

Facilities

Most learning activities take place at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. The Hospital has approximately 1,000 beds. The Johns Hopkins Hospital Cardiovascular Interventional Laboratory (CVIL) is a state-of-the-art imaging facility that houses the procedures suites for the Interventional Cardiology, Cardiac Electrophysiology, and Advanced Heart Failure sections. The CVIL is adjacent to the cardiac operating rooms along with Prep and PACU areas and are on the same flow as the Progressive Cardiac Care Unit, Cardiac Care Unit, and Cardiac Surgical Intensive Care Units. Additional instruction is provided affiliated community hospital sites in the region including the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center, and Frederick Health Hospital.

The patient population seen at Hopkins provides a broad range of cardiovascular disorders. In addition to patients from the surrounding area, Hopkins attracts patients from a worldwide catchment area. Patients are seen on a referral basis from the Johns Hopkins Emergency Department, other services within the hospital and local outpatient practices, physicians across the region, and locations around the US and beyond. In the course of their training, Fellows will see virtually every known form of adult cardiovascular disorder.

Evaluation

Evaluation and constructive feedback are essential for trainees to learn and grow during their training.

Fellow and faculty evaluations are officially documented quarterly using the web-based evaluation system, New Innovation Fellows are evaluated by the faculty members with whom they have worked using the standard ACGME competency categories, as well as program-specific learning objectives set forth by the fellowship director.

Fellows may review their evaluations and faculty feedback in the system at any time.

On two occasions per year, division faculty as a whole meet to discuss the performance of trainees in each training program. The program director also completes a final evaluation for fellows who are leaving the program each year.

Fellows may speak freely to the program director at any time if they have a concern about any aspect of their training. At the end of each year, Fellows are asked to evaluate the program as a whole and are encouraged to offer suggestions for continuous quality improvement.

Support

Fellows are not required to generate any portion of their salary. Fellows in this clinical training program are guaranteed salary support for both training years and are supported by clinical funds and industry-support grants.

Salary levels for trainees are based on university-determined PGY pay scale and are adjusted on an annual basis.

Fellows are funded to attend one major national conference per year following established University guidelines for reimbursed travel. Support for attending additional meeting.

Also provided is a common room, dedicated exclusively to Fellows' activities. This room includes individual workspaces, a locker for each fellow and several computers and printers. Fellows may join the Cooley Athletic Center for a nominal monthly membership fee. On-site parking in the hospital garage is provided.

Benefits

All Fellows are provided with individual health insurance, dental insurance, a term-life insurance policy, and disability coverage. Information regarding benefits is distributed by the Office of the Registrar in the School of Medicine . Fellows may also elect to contribute to a pre-tax voluntary retirement fund (403-b). On-site day care facilities are available to Fellows with children. Fellows are also eligible for paid maternity, paternity, and parental leave.

Johns Hopkins also recognizes that the intensity of a training program can be a time of high stress to fellows and their families. Assistance in dealing with the many issues related to work or personal life can be obtained through Johns Hopkins Employee Assistance Program. There is a strong sense of collegiality and camaraderie within the Division.

Recruitment

We remain committed to the highest quality of training for the Fellows in our program. Currently, our program accepts two Fellows each year, with many fellows coming to the program directly from our general cardiology training program. We will accept applications for the 2025 program through the ERAS system only.

Applications are submitted through ERAS which opens in July. The deadline to complete the application is September 1, 2024.

We expect to notify applicants regarding interview status in September/October 2024. Interviews will be held in October and early November.

Information for applicants on a Visa

• J-1 visas will be sponsored for applicants who are accepted into the program. Foreign medical graduates will need to have completed an ACGME-approved residency program in internal medicine in the United States prior to beginning the program. Fellows from non-ACGME-accredited programs must have at least three years of cardiovascular disease education prior to starting the fellowship.
• We are not able to sponsor H-1 visas.

If you have any specific questions about our program, please feel free to contact our fellowship manager Kelly Choi at [email protected].