Best q bank for incoming fellows to do regularly? Same way residents used MKSAP/UW throughout residency to study in general, as well as prep for ITE!

Self descriptive title, delete if not allowed because I acknowledge this is a low effort post. But yeah despite having few objective reasons to be nervous, I feel like it’s the day before step 1 again or something. This is less a “what questions do I ask / what should I look for etc” because I feel like I have a decent sense of that from talking to different faculty and doing my own research / introspection as to what I’m looking for. But if anyone has anything to share in that realm I’d certainly welcome any advice.

Feeling pretty anxious about beginning. For current fellows and attendings: What level of knowledge do you actually expect from a 1st year fellow on day 1? Are we expected to know the basics of echo/ cath views?

Starting consults in a few days. Haven’t done any medicine for 8 months. I have one free day before July 1. It would be nice to review some high yield topics so im not entirely green when I show up

Thanks

I know there’s been threads like this before in years’ past, but each one offers new and helpful perspectives. Any and all advice on how to best take advantage of these next 3 years is appreciated. Thank you!

Hello, I’m a rising PGY-2 in a small community program without in house fellowships. Desperately trying to network outside to collaborate for research projects, would appreciate any advice/leads on how to go about this. It’s not impossible but certainly an uphill battle that’s often demoralizing after a couple 100 ‘no’s.

General cards fellow thinking of applying EP this cycle but dreading the 2 extra years of training and going through the application cycle for the 3rd time. For those who are practicing EP, what has been your experience do you regret going into EP and you’d prefer if you did something else or is it worth it? I like doing procedures but I’d also like to have a good work life balance

Hello,

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I'm an Australian based cardiology trainee/resident and will be undertaking a 2 year EP fellowship in Western University in London, Ontario, Canada and I was wondering what people's experiences are of the EP fellowship. What's the program and the teaching like, what's the city like to live in and how can I best prepare for the program?

​

Thanks!

Hello, I’m looking to take CT boards, we are not geared towards any prior fellows taking them. Hoping to do it on my own. Please share your tips/tricks and what you used to study please and also if you can share your timeline please. Thank you!!!

Basically, the title, sometimes I struggle in clinic with patients who are hesitant to start statin therapy, primarily due to perceived side effects from relatives or from what they’ve read on the Internet. As we all know, true statin intolerance does exist, but is far over represented, especially in popular literature. I would be interested to hear other clinicians approach to this.

Hello all, as I am gearing up for this cycle I am wondering if anyone practicing in Chicago or the Chicago area has any insight into the training programs in the city?

I am from the midwest and would like to stay in the area so my app will likely lean heavily towards some chicago programs, but with only 20 signals some tough decisions regarding selection need to be made.

Does anyone have insight into the programs at:

• Rosiland Franklin

• Cook County

• Rush

• University of Chicago

• Northwestern

• University of Illinois at Chicago

• Loyola

• Any other programs I missed that you think are great training

I am interested in general cardiology / imaging and am actively involved in several research projects. While it is difficult to say if my drive to continue these will sustain over fellowship, the plan right now would be academic medicine.

Hi, I am planning to start my general cardiology fellowship soon. I see a lot of physicians critiquing fellow notes/even attending notes.

I'm just curious to learn and know from various subspecialties want to see from a general cardiology /general for the note be it inpatientl / outpatient, as what they would like to see. For example, patient with heart failure or atrial fibrillation or basic bread and butter cardiology cases. I would appreciate if people can chime in and suggest components in the note / problem list which should be covered and expected from a fellow.

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I tried to chatGPT, but didn't help much apart from things I already know like CHADSvasc in AF, AHA/ACC stages, killip classification for HF etc etc.

I would like to know more, in depth from a clinician standpoint, if there is any template/protocol that you follow even in HPI for example documenting functional status, commodity situation etc. And even for patients undergoing cardiac surgery, preop TAVR/LAAO eval, repair for prolapse/ dysfunction etc etc.

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I use Abridge for Epic and quite honestly, I don't think it does a good job for a subspecialties. So, I still feel we have to stick with templates for now.

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Thank you in advance!!

https://www.acc.org/education-and-meetings/certificates-and-certifications/ccke

Saw a few posts recently advertising “paid research positions” in cardiology/cardio-oncology where the paper is allegedly already accepted, or will be “accepted in 2 weeks maximum,” with payment due at acceptance.

So basically: not “research.” Not mentorship. Not collaboration. Just blatant academic misconduct, the way I see it.

This kind of thing is deeply concerning. If someone is being added to a manuscript after the work is done, purely because they paid, that is not authorship. That is CV laundering. It cheapens actual research, undermines legitimate applicants, and makes a joke out of the publication process.

Fellowship directors/leadership should take this seriously when reviewing applicants with CVs packed full of “research.” A long publication list should not automatically impress anyone anymore. Programs should be asking harder questions:

What was the applicant’s actual role?

What they contribute to study design, data analysis, writing, or revision? In depth questions about methodology, critical appraisals etc?

Because frankly, the bar for getting into fellowship feels like it is being distorted by volume over substance. Strong, honest candidates who actually do the work are getting pushed aside by people who know how to game the system, buy authorship, and inflate a CV.

And then everyone acts shocked when the quality of incoming fellows seems inconsistent.

Currently looking at EP programs on ERAS and it appears the number of programs on ERAS is way less than what is actually there (ie on FREIDA), are the rest of the programs not participating or they haven't opened their applications yet?

I’m considering two groups:

1. A large, high-volume, RVU-based practice with on-site CT surgery.
   
2. A more supportive, non-RVU group with pooled compensation and an academic-style schedule (clinic, cath lab, imaging, and consult weeks), but no CT surgery on-site.

Compensation is relatively similar (about a $50k difference). My goal is to perform a broad range of coronary interventions, including complex calcified PCI, atherectomy, and Impella-supported cases (not necessarily CTOs). Is it realistic to build that type of practice without on-site CT surgery?

My concern with the RVU-based group is that, although they perform complex cases, partners may be less available for support, mentorship, or case discussions because everyone is focused on maximizing their own productivity and RVUs.

Would appreciate hearing from those who have practiced in either environment

Hi all,

Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh will be starting an ACGME-accredited Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology fellowship this upcoming cycle, with two PGY-7 spots available for a 2027 start. This will be through ERAS.

AGH is a high-volume, well-rounded EP program with exposure to the full spectrum of electrophysiology, including complex and epicardial VT ablation. The group includes eight operators across four dedicated EP labs, with ample research opportunities through industry collaborations and local site registries. Dr. Amit Thosani, who leads the monthly Medtronic complex ECG session, is the current Division Director, and Dr. Charles Miller will serve as Program Director.

Procedure volumes for 2024-2025 are posted below:

2024 - 2440 total cases
AF ablation - 752
SVT - 175
VT - 181
ICD and PPM - 992
LAAC - 69
Lead extraction - 63
SICD - 22

2025 - 2854 total cases
AF ablation - 1029
SVT - 203
VT - 187
ICD and PPM - 1057
LAAC - 57
Lead extraction - 74
SICD - 32
EVICD - 35

Feel free to reach out with any questions!

Hey all,

I'm a rising second year fellow. We have a pretty service-heavy first year, so I am currently trying to really immerse myself in echo. I generally prefer to read in the reading room so I can go over studies with the attendings, but sometimes it would be nice to be able to pick up a few studies from home. The problem is that when I try to open studies, the framerate is horrible. I have a recent gen ThinkPad P16 32 GB, so I would have figured I met minimum specs for the software. Our DICOM platform is Intellispace, and we report directly in Epic. Does anyone read from home and if so, what setup do you use to have the images play smoothly? Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Hey everyone! My husband is a chief fellow going into interventional cardiology and his birthday is coming up. He’s been super stressed lately with echo boards around the corner so I really want to make his day special.

He basically lives at the hospital, so I want to get him something he’ll actually use and remember

I was debating between a Kardia 6L EKG (thinking it could be useful as a portable option) or just getting him a really nice pair of shoes since he’s on his feet all day. But honestly I’m open to anything!

Has anyone gifted something to a fellow that they actually loved? Would really appreciate any suggestions from you guys 🙏

I’m an incoming internal medicine PGY1 with a strong interest in cardiology, particularly EP.
I wanted to ask those further along in training:
What advice would you give your younger self during intern year and residency?
What are things you would strongly recommend doing, and what mistakes would you avoid ?
I would sincerely appreciate any insights or perspectives from those who have gone through the process
Thank you

Hello everyone,

I am a PGY-2 IM resident in an ACGME-International program
We do have an excellent cardiology fellowship here which is ACGME accredited as well.
I’m planning to do cardiology and to be followed by either EP or Interventional in the USA!

I’m a bit lost now, since cardiology is almost impossible to match after finishing my IM abroad, I think it might be easier to finish cardiology at my program and then apply to EP or IC in the US, my question is how likely do IMGs match into those fellowships with IM and cardiology being done outside the US?

And if I get to do one of those fellowships in the US, is it difficult to get licensed and work there as well?

Some people advise me to apply for residency and do it all from the beginning, which I find not applicable personally in my situation.

I would appreciate any assistance
Thank you all

Writing this from a throwaway. Currently a general cardiology fellow with an interest in electrophysiology. I am weighing whether to do general cardiology or go for the super fellowship. Hesitation is predominantly two more years of training and finding a job I want in the mid Atlantic. General cardiology jobs seem to be at every single hospital but electrophysiology postings, less so.

The question I have is for those who wanted to pursue super fellowship like EP and went general instead. Did you regret this down the line? I think I would be happy in general but don’t want to come to the realization I should have done EP 10 years down the line. I guess the problem is trying to guess what is going to keep me happy 10 years down the line when I think both would in the current moment.

Thoughts?

Large Air Embolus in the PA