What is the structure of the Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship at UConn Health/Connecticut Children’s?
Our fellowship is a 3-year program that provides trainees with a full range of clinical, research and educational opportunities. Throughout training, fellows are exposed to a breadth of cardiology of varying complexity. Fellows rotate on our inpatient hospital service as well as maintain their own half-day outpatient clinic weekly.
What are the on-call expectations?
Our fellows take weeknight call from home one night per week. They also cover one weekend per month, with in-person rounds during the weekend days and overnight coverage from home. There is close attending faculty supervision and support for fellows at all times.
What options are available to fulfill the scholarly project requirement for the American Board of Pediatrics?
Fellows may participate in basic science or translational research, prospective or retrospective clinical research projects, quality improvement, and bioethics. Fellows have access to mentors and laboratories across the University of Connecticut, including UConn Health and the undergraduate campus in Storrs as well as The Jackson Laboratory located on the UConn Health campus in Farmington. We are dedicated to tailoring each fellow’s scholarly project to their individual interests and career goals.
What didactic teaching sessions are offered?
Departmental didactic sessions are held regularly with a focus on frequent introductory sessions early in the first year of fellowship. As the fellows advance in their training the didactics will cover more complex topics at greater depth. Further, there are regular fellow-driven presentations offering opportunities for self-directed learning and practice in presenting topics within our specialty. Our fellows also participate in Connecticut Children’s ACGME required Core Curriculum with trainees from our other fellowship programs.
What medical and surgical subspecialty services are available at Connecticut Children’s?
Connecticut Children’s has a complete service line of pediatric medical and surgical subspecialists. We are also supported by our adult cardiology colleagues at Hartford Hospital. Heart failure/transplant training occurs at our secondary training site at Boston Children’s Hospital.
Where do fellows live?
There are diverse housing opportunities near the hospital, In general, fellows live in Hartford or nearby suburbs, including West Hartford, Farmington, Glastonbury, Manchester, and others. It is easy to find housing within a 15 to 20-minute drive from Connecticut Children’s.
What is the application process?
The UConn Health Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship program participates in the NRMP Match. Applications are submitted through ERAS and are subject to ERAS deadlines.
We select our applicants based on many criteria. We consider both academic and professional performance as well as demonstrated interest in cardiology and scholarly interests that align with areas of focus in our division. Along with an individual’s application, their interviews also play a significant role in the decision-making process. Interviews are offered and scheduled through Thalamus.
Does the program offer Master Degree opportunities?
Yes! The Department of Pediatrics will support one 2nd year pediatric fellow annually to enter the Masters in Clinical and Translational Research Program (MCTR) at UConn Health. If interested, please ask your program coordinator for additional information.