Welcome
Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a serious and progressive lung disease, defined by an elevation of pulmonary artery pressure, and frequently complicated by right ventricular failure and premature death. Optimal management, including medical therapy, depends upon an accurate diagnosis, a dedicated team consisting of knowledgeable physicians and allied healthcare providers, and a familiarity with the available PAH-specific medications, their benefits, and their side effects. Based on Canadian and international expert consensus, it is strongly recommended that PAH patients should be managed at PH centres with demonstrated expertise. As such, Health Canada mandates that PAH-targeted medications can only be prescribed from dedicated centres of excellence.
The McMaster University PH Program at St. Joseph’s Health Healthcare is a Nationally Recognized site of PH excellence. We review approximately 125 consultations annually and manage a prevalent population of 150 patients with Group 1 PAH and CTEPH. Given our location within the Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health, the emphasis is also applied to the evaluation and management of Group 3 PH and sarcoid-related PH. Focus is applied to both clinical excellence and the application of the clinical experience to innovative research projects utilizing both local and national registry data.
Certification Outcome
The successful completion of the fellowship will grant a Fellowship McMaster Certification.
Goals of Training
- Develop competence in the diagnostic evaluation and classification of Pulmonary Hypertension.
- Develop competence in the advanced management of Pulmonary Hypertension utilizing targeted PAH therapies.
- Apply and integrate the clinical experience into transformative clinical research projects.
Length of Training
1 year.
Funding
Funding for the PH fellowship will be flexible depending on the specific nature and training objectives of the fellowship candidate. Options include:
- Sponsored International Medical Graduates.
- Independent grants are funded through research grants or applications through our partners in the pharmaceutical industry.
- Self-Funded Clinical Fellow.
Entry Requirements
The fellowship program is designed for current residents or recent graduates of respirology, cardiology, or rheumatology. Recent graduates are required to submit an application form and comply with McMaster University Postgraduate Medical Education requirements for residents and fellows.
Application Deadline
Yearly on November 1. Off-cycle training is accepted, please inquire about off-cycle training with the Fellowship Director.
Curriculum Highlights
Training will be delivered in the ambulatory setting with inpatient consultations as required. The main objective of the training is to provide clinical training in several overlapping areas of respiratory medicine. Points of emphasis will include:
- A formal academic curriculum that consists of clinical sessions, lectures, journal clubs, group discussions, and clinical research and multidisciplinary clinical team meetings.
- Clinical and research education in the setting of supervised research projects.
Supervision & Feedback
Evaluation of Fellow performance and educational initiative will be centred on:
- Completion of rotation-specific entrustable professional activities and milestones.
- Improving student performance using self-directed learning facilitated by quarterly self-assessment evaluations and the utilization of multi-source feedback surveys with an emphasis on non-medical expert CanMEDS roles.
- Implementation of a validated instrument to measure the perceived quality of instructional activities in the outpatient environment (see appendix).
- Standardized evaluations of learner skills in teaching during their presentations at the ILD-MDD and case-based discussions.
- The quality and number of presentations and peer-reviewed publications covering a breadth of clinical, medical education, and translational research projects.