Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship
at Children's Hospital of New Jersey

Core Curriculum

Total number of clinical months: 24 months
(26 blocks of 4 weeks each)
Total number of research months: 12 months
(13 blocks of 4 weeks each)

Electives: Include Cardiac pathology, Genetics, Cardiac radiology (MRI & CT), additional Catheterization, EP or non-invasive imaging experience. Other electives will be considered on an individual basis.

Exact distribution and time of these rotations is subject to change for the needs of each fellow depending on the fellow’s career goals, choice of research and vacation arrangements, among other issues.

First Year

Tentative Rotations Block Diagram for First Year
(Subject to revision as needed)

The first year of training begins with an intensive orientation program of didactic core curriculum lectures each day @ 11am-12 noon during the first month of fellowship. The fellows will be introduced to performance of echocardiography in gradual steps by echocardiographic technicians and attending echocardiographers. Similarly, cardiac catheterization will be taught through their assigned rotation. Fellows will make rounds with the on-service attending in the CICU and discuss the cases. Following this, the fellow will make rounds in the patients outside of the CICU, i.e. NICU, newborn nursery and pediatric floors. All consult referrals will be directed to the fellow on service who will perform the initial evaluation and order studies under the guidance of the attending physician on service. Towards the end of first year, there will be a one-month period set aside for exploration of research opportunities, selection of a topic, mentor and initiation of preliminary work. Fellows will be expected to perform minor procedures such as placement of chest tubes, arterial and central venous lines in the PCICU under supervision.

Second Year

Tentative Rotations Block Diagram for Second Year
(Subject to revision as needed)

§ - Call free if done in outside institution

In the second year, the fellow is expected to function more independently as far as clinical responsibilities are concerned. They are expected to be proficient in performing and interpreting echocardiograms, achieve good proficiency in performance of cardiac catheterization procedures and a good understanding of invasive EP procedures. They will learn how to perform invasive procedures in the CICU such as placement of chest tubes, administer procedural sedation in CICU, placement of arterial and central venous lines, etc. During this year, the fellow will accompany the attending for TEE in the OR and begin performing fetal echocardiograms. If the fellow develops an interest in a subject that is not adequately available in our institution e.g. cardiac pathology, he/she will have 1 or 2 months during this year to rotate at another institution for such training. 2-3 months will be set aside for research in this year – during this time, an IRB or IACUC application is expected to be filed in preparation for carrying out the study during the latter part of the 2nd year and the first part of 3rd year. The fellow will also be expected to decide if he/she would like to do further specialization in a subspecialty within cardiology and explore those options and identify institutions that will provide such opportunities.

Third Year

Tentative Rotations Block Diagram for Third Year
(Subject to revision as needed)

§ - Call free if done in outside institution

The third year is largely considered a consolidation year where research predominates (11 4-week blocks). Depending upon the nature of the study, the research project will be completed and prepared for presentation and publication prior to the end of the third year. There will be relatively fewer clinical rotations during this year. Usually 4-6 months of clinical rotations will be necessary to maintain the clinical skills. Fellows with an interest in non-invasive imaging will be encouraged to independently perform TEE in the OR and fetal echocardiograms in the echo lab. He/she will be encouraged to interact with Maternal-Fetal Medicine colleagues about management of fetal patients. The fellow will take night call duties as in previous years, throughout the year – except when the fellow is doing an elective rotation in an outside institution. One month as “Junior Attending” will enhance the clinical experience and will provide a unique insight into the fellow’s future pediatric cardiology career. The fellow will also take administrative responsibilities in the fellowship program for the year by preparing on-call schedules, assignment of clinical rotations, vacation times, conference trips, coordinating fellows teaching conferences with faculty, organizing journal clubs, etc. for junior fellows.

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