Benderson Family Heart Center | Cardiovascular Intensive Care Clinical Fellowship

The Boston Children’s Hospital senior clinical fellowship in cardiovascular intensive care is a 12- to 24-month training program in the care of critically ill patients with congenital and acquired heart disease. With a long tradition in training highly successful cardiac intensivists, the curriculum is individualized based on the fellow’s prior background and future career goals. A 12-month fellowship provides for a minimum of six months of direct service time in our 31-bed high acuity cardiac intensive care unit. During that time, fellows are expected to achieve competency in perioperative care of patients with all forms of congenital heart disease, mechanical support including VAD and ECMO, acute heart failure management, and care of medically complex patients with congenital or acquired heart disease. The remaining six months are tailored to the individual, and may include, among other things, exposure in chronic heart failure management, electrophysiology, operating room observation time, and clinical research. Fellows are given graduated responsibility through the year of training, with the expectation that by the end of the year they will be prepared for a faculty position in a high-volume academic cardiac intensive care unit. Individuals who have completed three years of pediatric cardiology or pediatric critical care medicine are eligible for this one-year fellowship. Eligibility of individuals from other training backgrounds is considered on an individual basis. Two positions are available each year, with opportunities for additional positions when salary support can be secured from grant funding or other outside sources. To apply to the cardiovascular intensive care senior fellowship program, you may download application here.

A second 12 months of training may be available for those trainees who are both exceptional and interested in developing unique facets of their intensive care career paths. For example, this may include advanced clinical and/or translational research, professional development and increased clinical expertise for those interested in leadership positions or program development in the field of Cardiac Critical Care, Quality Improvement initiatives, and additional subspecialty training that dovetails with CICU management such as mechanical support. The opportunity to pursue a second year of advanced senior fellowship training will be evaluated on a case by case basis.