Residency in Advanced Cardiology

[nebero]

If you are interested, Mercer University and Piedmont Heart Institute are developing a residency program here in Atlanta Ga. First class of 2 PAs will start in January 2014.

[bike mike]

Actually starts in July. Here is the link:

 

http://www.piedmont.org/medical-care/mercer-piedmont-residency-program.aspx

[akdEM]

Looks awesome! Glad to see more and more residencies popping up.

[bike mike]

7 weeks into this residency and I must say it is an incredible learning experience so far. Getting our feet wet in the first 3 weeks in the CCU was a bit daunting. That was followed by four weeks in general inpatient cardiology with exposure to a wide range of patients - HFrEF, HFpEF, STEMI, NSTEMI, pericarditis (one pt had a very loud classic pericardial friction rub), afib w/ RVR, hypertensive urgency, AS (had never heard of the Gallvardin Phenomenon), and so much more.  When we return to the CCU we will be trained in putting in central lines, IABP, and managing pts with LVADs. The docs, PA's, NP's, and nurses have all been great to work with. Coming up: EP, several days of echo interpretation training, and much more CCU. For those PA students with an interest in cardiology I would recommend checking out what this residency has to offer.

[bike mike]

For those who are interested in an inpatient cardiology residency they have extended the application deadline for the Mercer/Piedmont advanced cardiology residency.

[vb315]

Hey bike mike,

I've been thinking of doing a residency since I started PA school, and cardiology has always been an area of interest for me. We get one elective rotation in my program and I picked cardiology (hopefully that works out). I saw this residency on the APPAP website and it sounded great. Could you tell me about your residency experience and any doors it opened up for you? Do you feel confident/comfortable managing cardiac patients on your own since the residency?

I'm on the Navy HSCP scholarship, so I owe a 3 year commitment after graduation. Is it reasonable to pursue a residency after my 3 years in primary care with the Navy, or is this something that new grads are given preference for?

Thanks for any help!

[LT_Oneal_PAC]

5 hours ago, vb315 said:

Hey bike mike,

I've been thinking of doing a residency since I started PA school, and cardiology has always been an area of interest for me. We get one elective rotation in my program and I picked cardiology (hopefully that works out). I saw this residency on the APPAP website and it sounded great. Could you tell me about your residency experience and any doors it opened up for you? Do you feel confident/comfortable managing cardiac patients on your own since the residency?

I'm on the Navy HSCP scholarship, so I owe a 3 year commitment after graduation. Is it reasonable to pursue a residency after my 3 years in primary care with the Navy, or is this something that new grads are given preference for?

Thanks for any help!

Just finishing up my HSCP obligation. While I can't speak for all residencies nor remove my bias, I felt I was pretty desired by the residency I was just selected for in emergency medicine. They traditionally take new grads, but told me when I asked up front if I would be disadvantaged that I would not and they do take experienced grads. They seem pretty excited that I wanted to do a residency, stating pretty plainly that I could get a job wherever I wanted anyway after doing navy medicine for 3 years.

many docs have gone back and done second residencies or dropped out of a residency midstream after they realized their first choice wasn't for them, so I imagine program directors are not typically opposed.

[vb315]

6 hours ago, LT_Oneal_PAC said:

Just finishing up my HSCP obligation. While I can't speak for all residencies nor remove my bias, I felt I was pretty desired by the residency I was just selected for in emergency medicine. They traditionally take new grads, but told me when I asked up front if I would be disadvantaged that I would not and they do take experienced grads. They seem pretty excited that I wanted to do a residency, stating pretty plainly that I could get a job wherever I wanted anyway after doing navy medicine for 3 years.

many docs have gone back and done second residencies or dropped out of a residency midstream after they realized their first choice wasn't for them, so I imagine program directors are not typically opposed.

Thanks LT_Oneal, I appreciate the help. Congrats on getting accepted to residency! It's reassuring to know that Navy Medicine experience is looked at favorably. 

[bike mike]

Hey VB

i can tell you that I had a great experience during the residency. There are rotations through general cards, EP, CVICU, CT surgery, echo, and a long stretch in the CCU where you learn to take care of the sickest of the sick. Having the residency located in the heartland of CVD of the US (in the south) doesn’t hurt when it comes to exposure to high acuity. After completing the residency you should be comfortable dealing with a wide variety of cardiac issues: cardiogenic shock, STEMI, VT storm, severe valvular disease, etc. During the residency you are trained to place Swan-ganz catheters, CVC, VasCaths, A-lines,  TVP’s. You are also expected to go to all code blues, be able to run the code, determine if the are an ECMO candidate, and if the are you first assist for cannulation. It’s not for everyone but for those who enjoy that kind of job it’s an incredible experience. As far as opening up doors I can tell you that every cardiology resident graduate has had multiple job offers after completing the residency. 

[moleashish]

I am in the process of applying to the Navy HSCP and cardiology is what I would like to do residency in. So this gets me excited. Thanks for the inputs and questions here @vb315 @LT_Oneal_PAC @bike mike

[vb315]

On 11/27/2017 at 9:48 AM, bike mike said:

Hey VB

i can tell you that I had a great experience during the residency. There are rotations through general cards, EP, CVICU, CT surgery, echo, and a long stretch in the CCU where you learn to take care of the sickest of the sick. Having the residency located in the heartland of CVD of the US (in the south) doesn’t hurt when it comes to exposure to high acuity. After completing the residency you should be comfortable dealing with a wide variety of cardiac issues: cardiogenic shock, STEMI, VT storm, severe valvular disease, etc. During the residency you are trained to place Swan-ganz catheters, CVC, VasCaths, A-lines,  TVP’s. You are also expected to go to all code blues, be able to run the code, determine if the are an ECMO candidate, and if the are you first assist for cannulation. It’s not for everyone but for those who enjoy that kind of job it’s an incredible experience. As far as opening up doors I can tell you that every cardiology resident graduate has had multiple job offers after completing the residency. 

Thanks for sharing your experiences Bike Mike! It sounds like you learn so much in just a year. Glad to hear that the graduates had multiple offers and that the training paid off, thanks again!