Curriculum

Clinical and Laboratory Training
As a Mayo Clinic cardiology transplant fellow, you will have access to clinical training in the in-patient and outpatient setting and exposure to a variety of patients with heart disease.

An outline of a typical rotation schedule follows; it can be tailored slightly to fit specific career interests.

Additional electives may include the Cath Lab, Echo Lab, Cardiac Pathology, Adult Congenital Heart Clinic or Pulmonary Hypertension Clinic.

Rotation Descriptions

In-Patient and Out-Patient Cardiac Transplant Clinic
You will rotate through the Cardiac Transplant Clinic. Responsibilities include daily evaluation and management of both in-patients and out-patients. In-patients awaiting cardiac transplantation are usually hospitalized on the Cardiac Care Unit or Heart Failure Service. As a cardiac transplant fellow, you will function in a consultative role in the management of these patients.

Post transplant patients are hospitalized on the Hospital Transplant Service, a multidisciplinary service staffed by transplant cardiologists, transplant surgeons and additional transplant specialists as appropriate. You play an integral role in the daily management of these patients.

In the afternoons, you will participate in the out-patient practice seeing patients both pre- and post-transplant.

Transplant Infectious Diseases
Because the identification and management of infectious complications represents a key part of transplant cardiology, you will spend elective time with the Transplant Infectious Disease Group. This group performs both pre and post transplant care for patients with all solid organ transplants. You will receive a broad exposure to the infectious complications that can occur in the immunosuppressed host.

Lung Transplantation
The Cardiothoracic Transplant Group works closely with the physicians in Pulmonary Medicine to evaluate and manage candidates for heart/lung, single lung, and double lung transplant. Cardiologists manage the pulmonary hypertension patients awaiting lung transplantation. You will participate in the evaluation and management of pre and post lung transplant patients both in the hospital and in the clinic.

Elective rotations can be tailored to fit your prior training and future needs. Rotation may be available in the Cardiac Catheterization Lab with focus on the hemodynamic assessment and right ventricular biopsy. Elective rotations in the Echo Lab are also possible. You will regularly review cardiac biopsies with the cardiac pathologists.

Because many of the patients treated in the Adult Congenital Heart Clinic or the Pulmonary Hypertension Clinic may ultimately be referred for cardiac transplantation, there may be an opportunity for fellows with specific interests to rotate through these subspecialty clinics.

Research Elective
You will spend four months conducting clinical or laboratory research in cooperation with clinical and laboratory investigators in cardiology. Basic science projects are also available in cooperation with Biochemistry, Experimental Pathology, Physiology, Immunology, Molecular Biology, Molecular Genetics and Pharmacology.

Didactic Training
Clinical conferences, seminars, small discussion groups, journal clubs and on-on-one instruction are all an integral part of the Cardiology Transplant Fellowship. For example, a variety of conferences are available, including Transplant Grand Rounds, transplantation core curriculum, journal clubs, cardiology core and clinical conferences and visiting faculty dinners. Fellows are expected to present one transplantation Grand Rounds talk on their research or an interesting cardiology topic.

Research Training
Your research opportunities at Mayo Clinic are outstanding. You are encouraged to participate in research projects with the consulting staff, which include opportunities for clinical studies and laboratory-based projects.