The University of Michigan Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship has a robust curriculum of didactic and clinically oriented educational conferences as well as regular clinical care and quality improvement conferences within the Division of Pediatric Cardiology. The fellows are encouraged to attend all conferences when able, and are expected to attend the core fellowship curriculum conferences unless urgent clinical duties intercede.
Adult Congenital Case Conference
Subspecialty conference led by ACHD faculty and staff, presenting current patients with discussion of diagnostic or therapeutic dilemmas. Held twice monthly.
Cardiac Catheterization Conference
- Cardiac Catheterization Case Review Conference: Faculty and fellows review cases performed during the previous week and scheduled for the upcoming week. Held weekly on Fridays 7:15 to 8 am.
- Cardiac Angiography and Hemodynamic Conference: Faculty and fellows review interesting cases with an emphasis on angiographic and hemodynamic interpretation. Held weekly on Tuesdays 7:15 to 8 am.
- Catheterization M&M: Monthly morbidity and mortality conference specific to catheterization procedures. Held monthly.
Cardiac ICU Case Conference
A current inpatient on the PCTU service is discussed at length with respect to the differential diagnosis, anatomy, physiology, pre and post-operative management, and surgical options. Once a month, the conference is reserved for QI review of PCTU outcomes. A 2nd year cardiology fellow prepares the case for presentation. Held weekly.
CHC Research Conference
Each conference highlights an ongoing research project in MCHORD (The Michigan Congenital Heart Outcomes Research and Discovery unit), which is the clinical research unit dedicated to the Heart Center faculty, fellows, and staff. The conference highlights current status, results, and future opportunities of the project. Held once monthly at noon.
Echocardiography Conference
Noninvasive imaging faculty review echocardiograms from the prior day with fellows and sonographers; fellows are asked to review the images with faculty guidance. Held 4 mornings/week.
Electrophysiology and Exercise Conference
Fellows and faculty review interesting and current electrocardiographic tracings, electrophysiologic studies, and exercise tests. Held monthly.
Fellowship Core Curriculum Conferences
Didactic lectures that range from core series of lectures in each subspecialty on the science and practice of pediatric cardiology, along with other selected cardiovascular subjects required for all fellows to learn. The presentations given primarily by the cardiology faculty, are designed specifically for the fellows. The Tuesday slot rotates with Professor rounds and Journal club. Held Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursdays at 4:00 p.m.
Fellowship Program Meeting
Monthly check-in with all fellows, with fellowship director, associate director, and fellowship coordinator. We convey information and discuss any fellowship issues. Held monthly.
Fellow Research Conference
Core clinical research faculty meet with fellows and provide oversight for the fellows’ individual research projects. Fellows give updates and discuss potential pitfalls, while faculty and senior fellows provide assistance. Faculty also provide practical teaching sessions on subjects such as abstract writing and designing a poster for presentation. Held monthly.
Journal Club
The fellows in rotation present and discuss recent (or classic) journal articles, with mentoring from one of the clinical research faculty. Held once monthly, in the Tuesday 4:00 p.m. conference slot.
Medical Cardiology Grand Rounds
Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine conducts an hour conference with presentations by internal or visiting experts on many facets of cardiovascular biology and disease. On occasion, the topic is particularly relevant to Pediatric Cardiology and we will encourage our fellows to attend. Held weekly.
MRI Conference
Fellows and faculty review and discuss cardiac MRI’s, often with echo/MRI correlation. Held twice monthly in the morning echo conference slot.
Pathology Conference
Review of clinical history, gross and microscopic pathology of patients who have died or received a heart transplant; data presented by a fellow and pathologist, followed by discussion of presentation, treatment and outcome, as well as examination of the pathological specimens. Held monthly in the 4:00 p.m. conference slot.
Pediatric Cardiology- Cardiac Surgery Conference
All patients scheduled for surgery the following week are reviewed and presented: patient histories and data presentation provided by pediatric cardiology fellows and faculty, with discussion of options and surgical plan by pediatric cardiology and cardiac surgery fellows and faculty. Held weekly.
Pediatric Grand Rounds
Department wide conference on the broad range of pediatric topics presented by internal and external speakers covering biomedical science, clinical problems and disorders, and socioeconomic issues. On occasion, the topic is particularly relevant to Pediatric Cardiology and we will encourage our fellows to attend. Held weekly.
Peri-operative Performance Rounds
Multidisciplinary, quality-improvement focused conference to review all surgical patient outcomes from prior 2 weeks. Pediatric cardiology faculty present pre-operative planning, intra-operative and post-operative outcomes and compare to program and PC4 benchmarks. Areas for future improvement are discussed. Held weekly.
Professor Rounds
Presentation and discussion of a current inpatient on the general cardiology service, with discussion led by rotating senior professors. Presented by the pediatric house staff (coached by the fellow on service) highlighting the differential diagnosis, diagnostic studies, and management. Held 2x/month in the Tuesday 4:00 p.m. conference slot.
