Echocardiography
Fellowship in Echocardiography, University of Calgary
Pre-requisite for admission:
Trainees will have typically completed a Royal College accredited program in cardiology prior to beginning a fellowship in echocardiography. A minimum of 6 rotations in echocardiography will have been undertaken and Level 1 training will have been achieved. In some instances, the requirements for Level II training* will have been satisfied. Applicants will need to provide documentation of training. Log - book entries of studies performed or interpreted, or a supporting letter from the previous program director will be considered acceptable.
Application Procedure:
Interested applicants are advised to contact the director of echo laboratories for the Calgary Health Region.
- Dr. S. Hutchison
- 1403 29 St NW
- Calgary AB T2N 2T9
- stuart.hutchison@albertahealthservices.ca
A brief application form will need to be completed and is available on-line at (www.libin.ucalgary.ca). Two supporting letters of reference will be required. Trainees who wish to complete an elective rotation in Calgary prior to commencing a fellowship are encouraged to do so by contacting:
- Dr. K. Kavanagh
- 1403 29 St NW
- Calgary AB T2T 2T9
- kkavanag@ucalgary.ca
Content of Training:
Fellows will be expected to complete 12 months of dedicated echocardiography training. It is expected that Level III skills will be acquired. Specifically, trainees will perform a minimum of 150 examinations in addition to those already completed to achieve Level II qualifications. Similarly, an additional 450 studies will be interpreted.
Transesophageal Studies
Competence in transesophageal echocardiography will be in accordance with the guidelines established by the Canadian Cardiovascular Society. This includes:
- Performance of a minimum of 25 esophageal intubations
- Supervised performance and interpretation of a minimum of 50 transesophageal studies
These are, of course, minimum requirements. It is expected that the fellow will be involved in a much higher volume of transesophageal examinations over a 12 month period.
Stress Echocardiography
Fellows will have an opportunity to learn develop skills to perform and interpret both treadmill and pharmacologic stress studies. A minimum number of 100 studies will need to be completed in order to achieve competence.
Echo-Guided Pericardiocentesis
The CCS guidelines do not outline a minimum number of pericardiocenteses required to demonstrate competence. The fellowship program in Calgary will provide an adequate number of these procedures to ensure that patients are appropriately selected, risks and benefits are clearly appreciated, and required technical skills are mastered. Fellows would be expected to complete at least 25 such procedures over a 12 month period.
Echo-Guided Myocardial Biopsy
The University of Calgary is one of very few centers which has developed expertise in echo - guided biopsy. Fellows would be expected to participate in these procedures and to develop an appreciation of the indications, contraindications, risks and benefits.
Evaluation of Training:
Fellows would be directly supervised by attending echocardiographers while performing and interpreting studies. This would particularly be the case when invasive procedures or transesophageal examinations are being conducted. Feedback would be provided on a case- by - case basis.More formal evaluations would take place on a quarterly schedule. All staff echocardiographers and sonographers would provide input and a written evaluation would be provided to the fellow.
The fellow would be encouraged ( but not required) to successfully complete the examinations set out by the American Society of Echocardiography.
Funding:
As in most other provinces, ministry funding is not available to guarantee subspecialty training. Support for echocardiography fellowships is secured from a variety of sources and availability may fluctuate somewhat on an annual basis.
