Cardiology Fellowship

Heart Institute at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh

Providing excellent care for babies, children, and adolescents with heart problems is a complex task. It involves pediatric cardiologists, cardiothoracic surgeons, nurses and professionals in other health-related disciplines working cooperatively to provide the best possible care to optimize outcomes. It is in this setting that you will begin your fellowship career in pediatric cardiology. Our goal is to prepare fellows for careers in academic medicine. This includes not only caring for patients, but also influencing the future practice of the field through teaching and research.

Director’s Statement

UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh's Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship Program provides a comprehensive training program for fellows interested in leading the field of pediatric cardiology in clinical, research and education domains. Educational opportunities are tailored to suit the needs and interests of each fellow. The clinical service is staffed by 32 pediatric cardiologists and includes a dedicated pediatric cardiac intensive care unit (CICU) and a world-renowned heart and heart-lung transplant program. The fully developed didactic educational program covers the breadth of general and subspecialty pediatric cardiology with multiple, weekly conferences for fellows. Furthermore, a broad range of research opportunities are available from the basic sciences to clinical trials. Opportunities for development as an educator at all levels abound. The program is currently funded for four fellows per class.
 
The objectives of the program are to:

• Enable the trainee to excel in all diagnostic and therapeutic areas of clinical pediatric cardiology so that he/she is capable of acting as a superior consultant.
• Familiarize the trainee with methods of clinical and basic investigation and with the skills to undertake a research project.
• Expose trainees to skills needed to educate the next generation of pediatricians

The program allows trainees with interest in sub-specialty areas of pediatric cardiology to become skilled in at least one of the following:

• Cardiomyopathy and Cardiopulmonary Transplantation Medicine
• Advanced echocardiography (including fetal and transesophageal studies)
• Cardiac MRI
• Interventional Catheterization
• Cardiac Critical Care (including ventricular assist devices, ECMO)
• Electrophysiology
• Exercise Physiology
• Preventative cardiology (including hyperlipidemia and obesity)
• Adult Congenital Heart Disease

For trainees interested in furthering their education, opportunities include:

• Certificate and Masters Programs in Clinical Investigation at the University of Pittsburgh
• Certificate and Masters Programs in Medical Education at the University of Pittsburgh
• Basic science lab opportunities at Children’s, at UPMC Presbyterian and at the University of Pittsburgh

Thank you for your interest in our pediatric cardiology fellowship program.  I hope we can help you in your search for the best education and training program to suit your needs. Our goal is to make each trainee the best cardiologist they can be and support their vision for excellence.

Tyler H Harris, MD
Fellowship Program Director, Pediatric Cardiology
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine