The Saint Louis University Division of Cardiology enjoys a rich tradition in training future cardiologists.
For over 30 years, the faculty of the division has made it a priority to dedicate a significant amount of time and energy toward the cardiology fellowship program. We take great pride in our training program with an emphasis on clinical cardiology. Two training programs are currently offered — a three-year cardiovascular fellowship and a one-year interventional cardiology fellowship program.
Welcome from our Program Director
A warm welcome to the Cardiovascular Medicine Fellowship Program at Saint Louis University located in Saint Louis, Missouri! We offer a three-year ACGME accredited cardiovascular training program and are registered with the National Resident Match Program. Our program is designed to meet the general cardiovascular training requirements as well as provide support for individualized goals in order to prepare for careers or further fellowships after three years of training. We select highly qualified fellows per year who we will nurture into confident and capable cardiologists.
We have two primary training sites: Saint Louis University Hospital and the John Cochran Veteran's Administration Medical Center. We serve a diverse patient population with high acuity when compared to other hospitals nationally. Please refer to our program overview to see what clinical and academic opportunities our fellows are exposed to during their training. Our fellows are able to achieve ACC Core Cardiology Training Symposium (COCATS) Level II training in coronary angiography, transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography, and nuclear cardiology.
The development of our fellows is our key priority. We have the support of the outstanding and passionate faculty at our program who are committed to develop our trainees in the fields of leadership, research, and compassion in addition to clinical knowledge. The daily didactics, a part of our curriculum, provide a structured teaching environment to supplement our continuous hands-on and bedside teaching. Fellows are encouraged and supported to pursue research opportunities and attend conferences.
Thank you for your interest in our program. Feel free to contact us with any questions regarding our fellowship or the application process.
Sincerely,
Ammar Nasir M.D.
Program Director
Cardiovascular Medicine Fellowship
Cardiovascular Fellowship
SLU’s three-year cardiovascular fellowship training program recruits four new fellows per year. All four spots are routinely selected using the match process through the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP).
The program has maintained full Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) accreditation without interruption with the last site visit in 2011.
Within the three-year fellowship program, our fellows are all eligible for American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) cardiovascular disease board certification. Many are also eligible for advanced certification in echocardiography through the National Board of Echocardiography and nuclear medicine through the Certification Board of Nuclear Cardiology.
Structure
The program focuses on inpatient training at SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital and the VA Saint Louis Health Care System - John Cochran Division. Outpatient experiences are also obtained at multiple sites with the St. Louis region.
Training takes place in two distinct phases. The first 24 months are dedicated to providing level I exposure to all elements of cardiology. The last 12 months are set aside to achieve level II procedural expertise in some focused areas of cardiology. The overall length of experiences is dictated by the American College of Cardiology Training Task Force COCATS document.
Specifically, the first two years include:
- Four months: Cardiac cath lab
- Seven months: Noninvasive imaging labs
- Nine months: Inpatient and consultation services
- Two months: Electrophysiology
There are prescribed research months in the first and second year of training. The exact structure of the third year is determined between the trainee and the program director based on specific needs for future practice. For example, trainees interested in pursuing interventional cardiology training may elect to perform more months of catheterization within the third year, while trainees who want to achieve a higher level of certification in echocardiography spend more time in the noninvasive laboratories.
Conferences and Teaching
The training program maintains a robust noon conference didactic program on an 8-12 month cycle that covers all basic and some advanced cardiovascular concepts relevant to all aspects of cardiology.
July and August are reserved for basic review of core concepts with lectures during that time principally given by the faculty. There is then a nine month period which includes one hour per week dedicated to electrophysiology, clinical case conferences, noninvasive imaging conferences and catheterization conferences.
There is also a journal club curriculum where the key aspects of scientific review of the medical literature are covered. Visiting professors frequently interact with the division and fellows to supplement the didactic educational program.
The program uses the American College of Cardiology In-Training Examination administered every fall to monitor trainees’ knowledge base and target areas of weakness, programmatic and individual standpoint.
Research
All fellows are expected to participate in clinical research throughout their three years. We currently have multiple ongoing multicenter clinical trials which allow fellows to receive valuable experience in patient recruitment and upcoming therapies not yet available.
Individual clinical research projects are also ongoing in the cath lab, electrophysiology, and heart failure that provide trainees with the opportunity to be successful in designing, conducting, analyzing and presenting a research project. Fellows are encouraged to submit their research for potential presentation at national and regional meetings.
Interventional Cardiology Fellowship
The one-year interventional cardiology fellowship program at Saint Louis University School of Medicine is for physicians who have already completed internal medicine and general cardiology training. Requirements include board certification in internal medicine and completion of at least three years of training in a cardiology fellowship, including certification for cardiac catheterization and coronary angiography.
One fellow is accepted each academic year. The fellow’s responsibilities include evaluation and care of patients referred for cardiac catheterization and undergoing interventional procedures and performance of those procedures with the attending interventional cardiologists.
Affiliated hospitals include SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital and VA Saint Louis Health Care System - John Cochran Division. Upon completion of the training, our fellows will be qualified to perform coronary and peripheral interventions and be board eligible for the American Board of Internal Medicine, Interventional Cardiology certifying examination.
Fellows are involved in over 350 coronary procedures per year. These include acute MI, cardiogenic shock cases, Impella implantation and management, complex coronary interventions, including exposure to advance chronic total occlusion lesion techniques. The fellow will be involved in over 100 peripheral interventions, including renal, iliac, and lower extremity angioplasty procedures. This training includes exposure to radial access to peripheral procedures and C02 angiography. The fellow also participates in ongoing clinical trials in the cardiac catheterization labs and has the opportunity to perform independent research with sponsored travel to national meetings.
Fellows are selected through the National Residency Matching Program (NRMP).
Applications are accepted only through the Electronic Residency Application System (ERAS).
Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship interviews are held in September and October
Interventional Fellowship interviews are held in January and February
Note: Only U.S. Citizens/permanent residents and J-1 visas sponsored by the ECFMG are considered for clinical training. We do not accept HI-B visas or applicants with "pending permanent residency" status. If a J-1 visa holder, the applicant must have adequate time to complete fellowship prior to losing J-1 status (three-year total).