Mission

The Naval Medical Center San Diego Cardiovascular disease program is tasked with training future cardiologists to support active-duty service members, their families, and Department of Defense beneficiaries. The mission is accomplished through a broad-based focus on developing patient focused competent general cardiologists capable of functioning in diverse clinical setting including shipboard and forward deployed installations, community sized hospitals, to tertiary care academic institutions.

Vision

Our vision is to create a diverse and inclusive training program that nurtures our fellows not only as exemplary physician but also as medical officers. Our graduates will have the potential to provide excellent clinical care, contribute to medical knowledge through scholarly activities, become prolific leaders and continue to tradition of providing exceptional cardiology care in every environment.

Aims

To train Navy Cardiologists who will become expert clinicians, prolific scholars, and leaders while providing safe, high-quality, patient-centered care.

The academic curriculum is the structural plan for the fellows and is based on the ACGME Cardiology Fellowship Program requirements. The main elements of the curricula include:

• Cardiac Catheterization
• Cardiology Rounds
• Cardiovascular Imaging
• Clinic and Consultation Services
• Congenital Heart Disease
• Echocardiography
• Electrophysiology
• Exercise Testing
• Nuclear Cardiology
• Inpatient Cardiology Services
• Quality Improvement
• Research
• Weekly academic conferences

Electives are scheduled during the 3rd year of fellowship and include:

• Cardiac Catheterization at NMCSD or Sharp Memorial Hospital
• Cardiovascular Imaging at NMCSD or Kaiser Foundation Hospital
• Echocardiography at NMCSD or Scripps Memorial Hospital
• Electrophysiology at NMCSD, Sharp Memorial Hospital, or University of California San Diego (UCSD)
• Heart Failure at Sharp Memorial Hospital or UCSD
• Research or Quality Improvement (no more than 1 additional block per year)

Call schedule is during the CCU rotation and is every other week during this block.

Curriculum with a focus on caring for the tactical athlete to include appropriate risk stratification to prevent sudden cardiac death and medical readiness for the patient’s operational platform as it pertains to cardiovascular medicine.

• Nuclear Online Training Course – available for fellows to complete throughout their three years of fellowship.
• Cardiology Fellows must maintain Basic Life Support (BLS) and Advanced Life Support (ALS) / Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) certification throughout their fellowship training. 

Procedural skills are enhanced by performing cardiac based procedures such as pericardiocentesis and temporary pacemaker placement. Fellows also have hands on anatomy dissections with cadavers to complement understanding of cardiac anatomy.

Fellows can participate in formal command sponsored Lean Six Sigma training and projects during their quality and research rotations.

According to the ACGME program requirements, the fellowship must advance fellows’ knowledge of research principles including how research is conducted, evaluated, applied to patient care, and explained to patients. The ACGME also mandates that the fellows should participate in scholarly activity, including one or more of the following:

• Publication of articles, book chapters, abstracts or case reports in peer-reviewed journals
• Publication of peer-reviewed performance improvement or education research
• Peer-reviewed funding
• Peer-reviewed abstracts presented at regional, state, or national specialty meetings

Fellows have dedicated time to focus on quality improvement (QI) during the fellowship (2 weeks per year with additional time during elective rotations). The specific objectives are based on the ACGME’s Core Program Competencies, the ACGME’s Internal Medicine subspecialty milestones, and the ACC’s recommendations according to fellow year (F1-3) and COCATS level (L1-2).

Fellows present lecture topics to master specific concepts. Core faculty are often supplemented by faculty lectures from other clinical participating sites. Faculty Development talks are scheduled during academic times for fellows to access. Professional and personal development lectures are also accessible during academic series covering fitness report (FITREP) writing, promotion, financial health, and physical well-being.

• Kaiser Permanente – Echocardiography/Imaging Rotation
• Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla – Advanced Echocardiographic Rotation
• Sharp Memorial Hospital – Cardiac Catheterization Rotation
• Sharp Memorial Hospital – Advanced Heart Failure Rotation
• UC San Diego Medical Center – Adult Congenital Heart Disease Rotation
• UC San Diego Medical Center – Echocardiography Rotation
• VA San Diego Healthcare System – Cardiothoracic Surgery Rotation

Medical students and residents can rotate in general outpatient cardiology clinic, inpatient cardiology or with any of our subspecialties to include interventional cardiology and electrophysiology.

Please visit our Medical Student Rotation informational page to see a listing of available medical student rotations offered at NMCSD.

Interviewers can be scheduled for either an in person or a virtual appointment. We are looking for well-rounded applicants that excel in volunteering, research, teaching and clinical acumen. To request an interview, please email the Cardiology Program Leadership at: dha.san-diego.San-Diego-NMC.list.nmcsd-cards@health.mil

Program graduates take the Cardiovascular Disease Certification Exam. This exam is offered annually. To become fully board certified, applicants are eligible to take board certification exam three months following graduation. To be eligible to take specialty board exams, graduates must complete all pre-requisites required by the American Board of Internal Medicine by October 31st of the year of examination. The Cardiovascular Disease Certification Exam is open for registration beginning in December through June. The examination is scheduled in October. For additional information, please visit the following webpage: (For Fellows | ABIM.org).

Fellows will have opportunities to teach rotating medical students and residents. Fellows are required to present lecture during academic times throughout their Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship.

Fellows have an opportunity to present at the American College of Cardiology Annual Scientific Session and Expo that is held each year.

• Critical Care Medicine
• Echocardiography
• Electrophysiology
• Interventional Cardiology

There is currently no formal mentorship program, but fellows are encouraged to seek mentorship amongst the attending physicians.

Morale and well-being are important in the development of well-rounded medical officers. Our fellows and staff participate in team building exercises and events throughout the academic year.