Program Overview

Why train at UCSF? 

• Large volumes, rich and complex for a program
• Individual fellow experience is more diverse within the program: Autonomy and Agency in any area related to ACHD
• Faculty invested in training leaders and will mentor and sponsor professional development both in clinical skills and any scholarly area of your choice
• Access to a research infrastructure: developmental biology program, global health, IT, public health, epidemiology, health system, big data, etc.
• Fellows treated like junior colleagues and ACHD Fellows are critical working component of the program and essential to many clinical operations
• No administrative responsibilities for fellows
• Committed to helping find a job and possibly keeping you here as faculty

Training

The training program is designed to be flexible and to meet the training requirement of individual fellows. The program includes formal clinical rotations in the congenital interventional catheterization laboratory, congenital cardiac surgery/Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, Echocardiography, Advanced imaging, Congenital electrophysiology, Heart failure and Cardiopulmonary exercise physiology. In addition, ACHD fellows attend two longitudinal ACHD clinics per week. The formal didactic program includes education in congenital cardiac anatomy and pathology, maternal cardiac disease in pregnancy, cardiovascular genetics, and embryology/developmental biology, in addition to the above clinical disciplines fellows attend and are expected periodically to present at regular conferences. There are options to pursue research projects in clinical or translational science as well as quality improvement and education during their training. They will be pared with a clinical or research mentor. 

6 months of elective or research experience. Fellowship will allow you to mold to area of interest. I.e. Congenital Interventional, Heart Failure, Genetics, Pulmonary Hypertension, Primary Prevention, Transition or Aortopathy.

UCSF offers an Advanced Training in Clinical Research Certificate. More information about the program can be found here. 

Research Mentors

• Can be from anywhere within the UCSF system
• Deep commitment to fully supporting mentees in research
• Research aims and project development
• Grant-writing support
• Financial support (e.g., presentation at meetings)
• Regular (usually weekly) meetings

Research Resources

• Large administrative / claims database (HCUP, Marketscan, PCORI, etc.)
• EHR/ Epic data (through informatics or retrospective chart review or combination)
• Prospective CHD cohort (currently being built through NIH and PCORI funding)

Sample Weekly Schedule