Welcome
The Advanced Coronary Imaging Fellowship is a one-year program that is a special competency achieved following core training in the program. Training is conducted at McMaster-affiliated cardiac hospitals including Hamilton General Hospital, McMaster University Medical Centre, and St. Catherine`s General Hospital. Fellows participate in all aspects of the Interventional Program including diagnostic angiography, PCI and cardiac CT reading sessions.
Certification Outcome
The successful completion of the fellowship will grant a Fellowship McMaster Certification.
Entry Requirements
Training is offered to trainees who are certified in Cardiology by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons (or equivalent) and have at least one year of PCI training. Preference will be given to candidates who have completed the requirements of the AFC Interventional Cardiology Program with a 2-year duration.
Application Deadline
Deadline for receipt of all material is 15 months prior to the anticipated start date.
Goals of Training
The three primary objectives of the fellowship are to develop competence in:
- Intravascular imaging interpretation
- Performance of image-guided complex PCI
- Training in coronary CT angiography
Length of Training
1 year
Funding
Trainees are generally funded by their home institution, government or external funding agency. Successful applicants are provided with letters of support for grant applications upon request.
Curriculum Highlights
Fellowship Structure and Expectations
The fellowship program is 12 months in duration and includes experiential and structured educational components as follows:
Experiential Components 70%
- 2 days cardiac catheterization lab at the Hamilton General Hospital
- 1-2 days imaging core lab at the Hamilton General Hospital
- 1-day CT at McMaster University Medical Centre or St. Catherine’s Hospital or other specialized coronary interventional procedures
- 1-day academic time
Structured Educational components (30%)
- Participate in weekly interventional rounds (Monday 8-9 am)
- Participate in core lab review weekly
- Conduct a core lab-based intravascular imaging research project
- Lead fellows imaging rounds
- Submit a case for the annual fellows competition at the Canadian Coronary Imaging and Physiology Meeting and attend this meeting as the Tremblant Interventional Cardiology (TIC) meeting.
Training Requirements
The Advanced Coronary Imaging Fellowship competencies are as follows:
- Performance of >50 imaging procedures as an adjunct to diagnostic angiography of PCI
- Performance and or interpretation of image-guided complex PCI including stent failure, long lesions, bifurcations, and calcified disease
- Review of >50 cases in an imaging core laboratory including cases with IVUS and OCT correlation
- Performance of an imaging core laboratory-based research project that addresses an area of diagnostic or treatment application of intravascular imaging
- The fellow will present bi-weekly intravascular imaging rounds for other interventional fellows and staff. The fellow will be responsible for identifying cases, preparing presentations.
- The fellow will participate in educational activities provided by the McMaster Centre of Excellence in OCT
- Acquisition and interpretation of >300 cardiac CTs with a focus on coronary CT angiography as the main indication for testing
Supervision & Feedback
The fellow assessment will involve a combination of direct workplace-based assessment & in-training evaluation of performance in the cath lab, CT, clinic, and academic work. A case logbook must be submitted, reviewed and signed off by the program committee for fellowship completion.