An advanced senior fellowship in exercise cardiology at Boston Children’s Hospital is a six- to 12-month training program designed to prepare congenital cardiologists for a career that includes exercise diagnostics, therapeutics, and research.

Exercise testing and training

The Department of Cardiology Exercise Physiology Lab at Boston Children’s has one of the highest exercise testing volumes in the country and one of only a few dedicated cardiac fitness (rehab) programs specifically designed for patients with congenital and pediatric acquired cardiac conditions. The Department of Cardiology has four fully functional exercise labs, two additional dedicated outpatient cardiac fitness rooms, and one inpatient cardiac fitness room. The exercise staff includes highly-skilled congenital cardiac exercise physiologists and dedicated faculty with direct oversight of the program.

Scope of training

The senior fellow will study advanced exercise physiology and adaptations in congenital heart disease, learn about test selection, and gain experience in testing and interpretation. For exercise therapeutics, there will be regular hands-on opportunities to develop exercise prescriptions, learn risk stratification and delivery of exercise therapy (in-person and virtual cardiac fitness sessions), and perform exercise counseling.

Schedule

A sample four-week repeating schedule is below. The schedule has built-in flexibility to individualize depending on the senior fellow’s specific interests. There is a service requirement of two weeks on the consult team, but no call duties. As part of the 12-month program, the senior fellow will develop an independent research project with protected time to bring it to completion, supported by expert cardiology faculty and amplified by access to experts across the greater Harvard Medical School system. The Benderson Family Heart Center has an advanced research infrastructure, with more than 15 years of digitized exercise data linked to cardiac diagnoses and patient information databases. The clinical research team can assist with statistical software and analysis.

MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY	FRIDAY
Research AM/PM	Med Surg Conf Program development Virtual Exercise PM	Coronary Conference In Person Clinic AM Exercise Lab/Fitness	Med Surg Conf Fellows didactic Research PM	Fellows didactic Research AM Weekly Progress Mtg Research PM
Research  AM/PM	Med Surg Conf Program development Teaching Sessions	Exercise Lab/Fitness	Med Surg Conf Specialty clinic (rotating) Fellows didactic Fontan Clinic	Fellows didactic Research AM Weekly Progress Mtg Research PM
Research AM Virtual Exercise PM	Med Surg Conf Exercise Lab Contin. Ed. Teaching Sessions	In Person Clinic AM Exercise Lab/Fitness	Med Surg Conf Fellows didactic Research PM	Grand Rounds Research AM Weekly Progress Mtg Research PM
Research AM/PM	Med Surg Conf Program development Teaching Sessions	Exercise Lab/Fitness	Med Surg Conf Fellows didactic Fontan Clinic	Fellows didactic Virtual Exercise AM Weekly Progress Mtg Research PM

Ample opportunities also exist for educational projects and clinical program development. The senior fellow will also actively participate in the didactic and clinical conferences available to all cardiology fellows throughout the Benderson Family Heart Center and will take an active role in the teaching of pediatric residents, medical students, and categorical cardiology fellows through case-based learning and simulation.

Application

The Advanced Senior Fellowship in Exercise Cardiology Program will accept one fellow per year, pending availability of funding. Fellows selected for an advanced fellowship in exercise cardiology must have completed training in pediatric or adult congenital cardiology.

To apply to the Advanced Senior Fellowship in Exercise Cardiology Program, download the application here.

Timeline

• Deadline for completed application: Oct. 1 for fellowships beginning July 1 of the following year
• Interviews: Oct. 1 through Nov. 30
• Final selection: Dec. 31

Contact information

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