Program Director:  John M. Fontaine, M.D. 
Program Coordinator:  Ellen L. Loomis 

Overview of the Fellowship Program

It is the goal of the Division of Cardiovascular Diseases Fellowship Program to provide each fellow with a broad exposure to a wide spectrum of acute and chronic cardiovascular diseases, emphasizing accurate clinical diagnosis, appropriate utilization of diagnostic testing and integration of data, and implementation of effective management strategies. At the completion of the program, the fellow will be able to proficiently provide comprehensive cardiology care in a setting of the highest standards of professional conduct with sensitivity to the needs of each individual patient. The faculty, staff and administration are fully committed to the educational program thereby providing the appropriate resources and facilities to achieve the stated goals.

The Cardiovascular Diseases Fellowship program involves a minimum of three years of fellowship, the first two years concentrating on comprehensive clinical care and the third sub-specialized with additional emphasis on research. The third year is essentially an elective year with a rotation schedule tailored to the interests of the individual fellow. Certain subspecialty areas such as electrophysiology and interventional cardiology require a fourth year of fellowship for certification.

There are rotations through the cardiac catheterization laboratory, the cardiac care unit, clinical and consultative cardiology, congenital heart disease service at St. Christopher’s Hopital for Children, echocardiography, heart station, heart failure/transplant, electrophysiology, nuclear cardiology, cardiac rehabilitation, cardiothoracic surgery service and some combined exposures. Electrophysiology, heart failure/transplant, and cardiac rehabilitation include an outpatient experience (additional to usual continuity clinic). Research time is considered to be concurrent with these rotations; special wishes for time exclusively devoted to research will be considered as the need arises.