Cardiovascular Medicine

Interventional Cardiology

For Prospective Interventional Cardiology Fellows

Welcome to the site of Interventional Cardiology Fellowship Program at the University of Texas Medical Branch Hospitals and The Methodist Hospital. The program is a one-year program which continues to accept applications from highly qualified physicians who are board-eligible in Internal Medicine and Cardiology. Basic requirements are the completion of a three-year Cardiology fellowship program and full training in cardiac catheterization and coronary angiography. Currently, two(2) fellows are accepted each year.

The purpose of this ACGME-accredited training program is to produce outstanding interventional cardiologists who excel in all six (6) areas of core competencies in interventional cardiology–(a) patient care,
(b) medical knowledge, (c) practice-based learning and improvement, (d) interpersonal and communication skills, (e) professionalism, and (f) systems-based practice. At the end of the training program, the fellows are expected to be fully capable of independently performing coronary and peripheral interventional procedures. The training program views professionalism to be one of the most important attributes of interventional cardiologists and encourages the fellows to strive for and attain the highest level of professionalism that lasts a lifetime. Training takes places everywhere on the campus–in the cardiac catheterization laboratory, coronary care unit, step-down unit, outpatient clinic, conference rooms, offices and homes of interventional faculty, off-campus restaurants, and others. Program Director and interventional faculty are determined to be highly accessible to all interventional fellows and to mentor and coach interventional fellows to be outstanding interventional cardiologists.

Responsibilities of clinical interventional cardiology fellows include the evaluation and care of all patients referred for interventional procedures and the direct participation in all of those procedures under the supervision of the senior interventional cardiologist. Fellows can anticipate participation in 300 procedures including complex coronary and peripheral interventions, and interventions on structural heart diseases. Our program offers spectacular training on complex coronary and peripheral interventions. We are a certified Medicare TAVR program. Fellows will be expected to actively participate in clinical trials related to interventional cardiology. Fellows will be expected to review incoming referrals for interventional procedures and to communicate with referring physicians in a timely fashion. Fellows are also encouraged to complete a research project suitable for publication in a peer review journal. Fellows are required to make themselves available to the hospital within 20 min of the activation of the cardiac catheterization laboratory when they are on call. Fellows are also required to complete assigned didactic courses on the web-sites.

The experience in the fellowship program is acquired in the Interventional Cardiology section of the Division of Cardiology at The University of Texas Medical Branch's John Sealy Hospital. At the conclusion of the training fellows are expected to become board-eligible for the American Board of Internal Medicine, Interventional Cardiology certifying examination.

Eligibility and Requirements for the Program

1. Successful completion of ACGME-accredited Internal Medicine Residency and General Cardiology Fellowship Programs and Board-eligible for ABIM Internal Medicine and Cardiovascular Medicine.
2. A completed application through the ERAS.
3. Three (3) recommendation letters supporting the character, professionalism, and fitness of the candidate for the future interventional cardiology career.
4. An appropriate visa status. We do not sponsor H1B visa
5. Willingness to adhere to rules and policies of the interventional fellowship training program as delineated in the UTMB Interventional Fellowship Hand Book.

Application Timeline

Class of 2023 (training commencing in July 2022)

- We will not be participating in the NRMP Match
- The positions starting academic year July 2021
- June 2022 have been filled.

Interventional Cardiology Fellowship Handbook
Available upon request. Please contact Leslie Elgin (lcelgin@utmb.edu) at our Cardiology Fellowships Office.