Interventional Cardiology Fellowship

Thank you for your interest in Texas Tech University Health Sciences Interventional Cardiology fellowship training program.

Our program participates in the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP) and is registered with Electronic Residency Application Service (The ACGME program ID number is 1524814169 — July Application Cycle).

There are certain eligibility criteria which must be met to apply for Interventional Cardiology fellowship training program:

• Must apply via the Electronic Residency Applicant Service (ERAS) and must enroll in the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP)
• Be of good professional character with at least three letters of recommendation attesting to your academic and personal qualifications
• Graduate of a U.S, or Canadian Medical School accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), or a medical school outside the United States and Canada with a current valid certificate from the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG)
• Graduate of an ACGME-accredited three-year internal medicine residency training program and three-year cardiology fellowship training program.
• Our program only sponsors J-1 visa
• Completion and pass all three U.S. Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) steps
• The selection process stringently evaluates performance on the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE), grades in preclinical or clinical courses, letters of recommendation, communication skills, and personal qualities
• All applicants must have taken and passed all USMLE exams (preferably first attempt, but not a requirement)
• The selection process evaluates performance on the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE), grades in preclinical or clinical courses, letters of recommendation, communication skills, and personal qualities
• The department does not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, age, religion, color, national origin, sexual orientation or veteran status
• Interviewing is conducted during the months of January and February.

One fellow is selected from a highly competitive field of applicants for the training program. The fellow is selected from among eligible applicants on the basis of their ability, academic credentials, aptitude, communication skills, intellectual and humanistic qualities, personal attributes (such as motivation and integrity), preparedness, and their ability to benefit from the program. These qualities may be accessed through the review of academic records, letters of recommendation, standardized test scores and other means, including interviews.

We look forward to receiving your application.

Application Check List:

• ERAS Application
• ERAS Addendum Form (only needed upon invitation for an interview)
• Personal Statement
• Curriculum Vitae (in chronological order with no gaps)
• Dean's Letter
• Medical School Transcript
• 3 Letters of Recommendation
• Notarized copy of Diploma (only needed upon invitation for interview)
• Program Director's Letter/Certification (if had previous residency training in the U.S.)
• Copy of State License (if applicable)

IMG (International Medical Graduates) Additional Requirements

• Only accepts J-1 Visa
• No US clinical experience required but is preferred
• Must have ECFMG certificate at interview
• Clerkship Affidavit (only needed upon interview invitation)
• Valid ECFMG Certificate (required BEFORE invited for interview)
• Authorization form for confirmation of ECFMG certification (only needed at interview)

*TTUHSC does not accept H-1 Visa

Benefits:

• Paid Health/Dental/Life/Disability Insurance
• Worker's Compensation Insurance
• Professional Liability Insurance
• Free Parking
• 30 Days Paid Vacation/Sick/Personal leave per year (non-accruable).
• 10 Days Educational Leave per year (non-accruable).
• Stipend--Funds will accrue throughout the fellowship and will be allowed to be carried over from year to year.
• Paid ACLS Course renewals

Please visit our GME office for detailed salary and benefit information.

The TTUHSC Interventional Cardiology fellowship is comprised of:

• Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory Experience and Procedural Techniques
• Outpatient Clinic
• Consultative Services
• Inpatient Service
• Research
• Conferences
• On-Call Experience
• Independent Reading and Studying
• Discussion and Interaction with faculty and other fellows
• Extramural Conferences and Training Programs

The fellow has only one rotation.  He/she is responsible for pre-and post-operative care of the interventional patient as well as the procedure.  Also, he/she is responsible for interpretation of non-invasive vascular studies.   In addition, he/she will have one half-day continuity clinic per week.

As is expected of interventional cardiologists in “real world” practice, these experiences occur simultaneously throughout the interventional fellowship year. This allows the fellow to participate in all aspects of the care of a wide variety of interventional cardiovascular patients including pre-procedural assessment, diagnostic and interventional therapeutic procedures, post procedural care in the hospital and long-term, and in research relative to the field. As the fellow learns and gains experience, it is expected that he/she will integrate this knowledge and finesse to become a complete, well rounded, competent interventional cardiology consultant.

Conference Description

The Division of Cardiovascular Medicine provide numerous conferences to enhance the educational experiences of fellows. Interventional fellows are required to attend the Cath Conference (which includes Quality Assurance and Morbidity and Mortality Conference), Journal Club and Research Conferences, and Interventional Cardiology Board Review.

Schedule

The interventional fellow will spend 5 days per week in the cardiac catheterization laboratories at UMC participating in diagnostic procedures and coronary and peripheral vascular therapeutic interventional procedures. ½ day per week will be spent in the outpatient clinic with the cardiologists. The other half of the clinic day will be devoted to research concurrent with cath lab responsibility. If fellow become involved in a research project that requires more time, one additional day may be devoted to research with three days in the cath lab, or other arrangements can be made for protected research time. 

Procedures

Interventions are performed by the interventional fellow and third year general cardiology fellows or faculty, as the procedures require experience.

The fellowship program provides the opportunity to acquire procedural expertise:

• Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty
• Balloon angioplasty
• Stent deployment
• Rotational atherectomy
• Directional atherectomy (lower extremity)
• Laser atherectomy (lower extremity)
• Mechanical thrombectomy  (lower extremity)
• Rheolytic trombectomy (lower extremity)
• Distal protection devices 
• Carotid arterial intervetion

Fellows will learn techniques for percutaneous coronary intervention and other procedures:

• Percutaneous balloon valvuloplasty
• Percutaneous valve implantation/replacement

Clinical investigations include the use of novel devices for percutaneous treatment of coronary artery disease, non-coronary cardiac interventions, such as percutaneous valve replacement, drug-eluting stent studies, stem cell and angiogenesis factor treatment for patients with end-state coronary, and peripheral arterial disease and novel imaging technologies.

Fellows graduating from the one-year program will easily exceed the minimum ACGME requirement of 250 coronary interventions. Our curriculum meets the requirements specified by the American College of Cardiology (ACC) for interventionalists; and our high volume and high level of case complexity provide an excellent foundation to develop expertise as an independent operator.