The Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology Fellowship in the University of Missouri School of Medicine’s Division of Cardiovascular Medicine is a two-year accredited program designed to provide training in the evaluation, diagnosis and management of heart rhythm disorders. The program enables fellows to pursue a successful, independent career in academic or community practice.
The University of Missouri provides specialized electrophysiology care for a wide range of issues in three settings: University Hospital and Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans’ Hospital in Columbia, and the Kansas City Heart Rhythm Institute in Overland Park, Kansas. It treats issues ranging from, but not limited to, evaluation and management of arrhythmia, simple and complex ablations, pacer/ICD/Biventricular devices and antiarrhythmic drug management.
Educational purpose and goals
The goal of the program is to advance the fellow’s skills in the technical and procedural aspects of clinical electrophysiology with special emphasis on diagnostics and decision-making during procedures. This training includes teaching appropriate choice of procedure, including indications, contraindications, risks and benefits of each procedure, as well as alternatives for the same. Through training and involvement in preprocedural, intraprocedural and postprocedural patient care, trainees will receive comprehensive experience in applying electrophysiological principles in clinical practice. Upon completion of training, fellows will be fully independent in evaluating for, performing and analyzing the full range of diagnostic and therapeutic electrophysiologic procedures.
Didactic sessions are regularly held for trainees to provide focused instructions on a broad range of topics in basic and clinical cardiac electrophysiology, clinical pharmacology and fundamentals of clinical research. There are three main clinical components, each of which provides detailed instruction in, and experience with, specific aspects of arrhythmia management: clinical cardiac electrophysiology laboratories; implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD)/pacemaker service; and outpatient cardiac arrhythmia clinics. In the course of this rotation, our objective is for fellows to gain mastery in each of the ACGME core competencies.
The strengths of the electrophysiology fellowship at the University of Missouri include:
- Strong involvement of fellows from day one in all electrophysiology procedures, including all varieties of cardiovascular implantable electronic device (CIED) placement and simple/complex ablation procedures.
- Robust clinical research for electrophysiology fellows, including the opportunity to author multiple abstracts and manuscripts during the first year of training.
- Large volume of atrial fibrillation ablation procedures relative to the number of fellows, which allows fellows to earn practical experience in their first year, including transseptal access and navigation to the left atrium. This includes unique training in radiation-free (fluoroless) left atrial ablation procedures.
Clinical Training
Weekly electrophysiology didactics are held from 7-8 a.m. Wednesdays, and case discussions and a quarterly journal club meeting convene from 5:45-6:45 p.m. Wednesdays. Training occurs at both University Hospital and Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans’ Hospital and at the Kansas City Heart Rhythm Institute. Research opportunities are available at all locations.
Both years of fellowship training are divided into 12 rotation blocks, with 10% outpatient volume during each block and a first-year rotation dedicated to research. The order of first-year rotations may be adjusted with the approval of the program director. Second-year training includes potential elective blocks of Advanced Heart Failure (50% outpatient) and research in place of electrophysiology labs at University Hospital.
Applications
All program applications are completed through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS). The Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology Fellowship program accepts two fellows per year. Your ERAS application should include:
- Curriculum vitae
- Personal statement
- Three letters of recommendation, including one from your program director
- USMLE transcripts
If you have additional questions, please contact program coordinator Stephanie Stephens.
