Pediatric Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU) Fellowship

Pediatric CVICU Fellowship

Our Center for Heart Care is the premier regional referral center for the specialized care of infants and children with congenital heart disease.  As part of its mission, the Center for the Heart Care is helping train the next generation of leaders in the field of Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Medicine. Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Medicine has become increasingly specialized over time as the conditions of patients have become more complicated. There is no greater example of this than the field of Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Medicine, where providing excellent care to these very complex patients requires training beyond what is provided in most Pediatric Critical Care Medicine fellowships. In addition, as the number of children with congenital heart disease in society continues to grow, there becomes a greater demand for highly trained physicians to care for them.

Our Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CVICU) is a 36 bed unit including twelve step-down beds. We admit more than 1,000 patients per year, who are expertly cared for by a team of dedicated practitioners. Our Center for the Heart Care performs more than 275 cardiopulmonary bypass cases of all complexities every year. Additionally, our CVICU is the fulcrum of an extremely busy heart failure/heart transplant program, performing about fifteen transplants a year, as well as caring for patients with a wide variety of extracorporeal cardiac assist devices, from Berlin LVADs to Total Artificial Hearts.

Program Description and Goals

The Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Medicine Fellowship provides trainees the necessary specific knowledge base and experience to perform the comprehensive management of critically ill pediatric patients with congenital or acquired heart disease. This non-ACGME accredited 12-month didactic and clinical training program is intended for individuals who have completed an accredited fellowship in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine or Pediatric Cardiology and are interested in achieving expertise in the most advanced aspects of Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Medicine.

The fellowship is designed to prepare physicians for a career in Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Medicine. The goals and objectives are achieved through direct patient care, supervision of fellows, resident and medical student clinical care, and a comprehensive curriculum that includes conferences, didactic lectures, courses, hands-on learning activities, and workshops. Throughout the year, the CVICU fellow will assume greater responsibility, while being monitored and mentored by members of the faculty.

Requirements

To qualify for this fellowship, applicants must have previously completed an ACGME accredited fellowship in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine or Pediatric Cardiology.

The conference schedule depends on fellow training and will include exposure in either PICU or Cardiology teaching lectures. Weekly conferences occur on Wednesday mornings including M&M and Journal Club. The fourth-year fellow will be involved in teaching PICU and Cardiology fellows CVICU topics.

The twelve-month curriculum for the CVICU Fellowship is designed to combine didactic lectures and clinical experience in Cardiology and Pediatric Critical Care Medicine. There is a set curriculum; however, schedules can be individualized based on particular experiences or interests of specific candidates. The fellow will work closely and have direct supervision by faculty members in Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Medicine, Cardiology, and Cardiothoracic Surgery.

As the fellow progresses through the training experience,  they assume graduated authority and increasing responsibility for patient care. The fellow directs the plan of care for patients with the supervision of the CVICU faculty and performs invasive procedures, including airway management with endotracheal intubation, thoracentesis and thoracotomy tube placement, insertion of invasive monitoring lines, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and cardioversion. Once a fellow has demonstrated sufficient competence, functions as a licensed independent practitioner; however, Pediatric Cardiac Critical Care Medicine faculty members shall be available twenty-four hours a day to provide continuous supervision and consultation as needed. Outside of the confines of the CVICU (e.g., the cardiac catheterization lab, echocardiography lab, or cardiovascular operating rooms), the fellow takes part directly in procedures performed under the supervision of attending physicians to learn the necessary skills. In these settings, however, the fellow shall not function as an independent practitioner.

Sample Schedule for Critical Care trained fellow

Sample Schedule for Cardiology trained fellow

Application

The Phoenix Children’s CVICU Fellowship program participates in the SF Matching process. For application details and deadlines, please visit SFMatch.org.

If you have any questions about the fellowship program, please feel free to contact us. We are always more than willing to discuss our program with potential applicants.

Contact

Nicholas Huggins, MD
Program Director, CVICU Fellowship
1919 E. Thomas Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85016
nhuggins@phoenixchildrens.com

Marissa Romo
Program Administrator, CVICU Fellowship
1919 E. Thomas Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85016
mromo@phoenixchildrens.com
602-933-1864