Pediatric cardiology fellowship
The program aims to produce compassionate, ethical graduates with comprehensive experience in all foundational aspects of pediatric cardiology.
With a pediatric fellowship from CHoR, you are:
- Encouraged to practice “servant-oriented” leadership skills with service not only to patients and families, but also to the institution and academic community as a whole.
- Well-prepared to enter academic or community practice, or pursue additional subspecialty fellowship training.
- Knowledgeable about the basic and clinical sciences related to the normal and diseased cardiovascular system at a variety of developmental stages ranging from the fetus to the adult.
- Able to adeptly provide collaborative care with other specialists within the constructs of the current medical system, and be capable of conducting and critically appraising scientific research.
Our graduates pursue careers in private practice and academic medicine at an equivalent rate and have consistently been successful in obtaining positions of their choice.
About the program
Program length
Fellows join the pediatric cardiology fellowship training program after completion of either a 3-year general pediatrics or a 4-year medicine-pediatrics residency. This is a 3-year post graduate training program designed to provide a well-rounded education in the areas of congenital and acquired heart disease in the neonate, child/adolescent and adult. Fellows are offered the opportunity to further their specific interests during the third year of training where more focused and intensive opportunities in the areas of diagnostic and interventional catheterization, non-invasive and fetal imaging, and critical care cardiology are offered.
Training and professional opportunities
Training occurs in both the inpatient and outpatient settings at the Children’s Hospital of Richmond (CHoR) and Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center. CHoR is central Virginia’s most advanced pediatric tertiary care facility offering over 50 different pediatric subspecialties in addition to pediatric cardiology and including pediatric cardiothoracic surgery, level IV NICU services and level 1 PICU and pediatric trauma designation.
The breadth of expertise at this facility provides the fellow with unique opportunities to interact with a multi-disciplinary team of providers, and a vast array of patients with an expansive list of primary cardiac and non-cardiac diagnoses and comorbid conditions.
World Pediatric Project (WPP) opportunities:
CHoR also partners with the World Pediatric Project (WPP) – a Richmond-based, charitable organization with a mission to link worldwide pediatric surgical, diagnostic and preventative resources to care for critically ill children in developing countries – to bring children to Richmond for life-saving cardiac catheterization and cardiothoracic surgical procedures.? The fellow serves as the primary cardiologist for these children with responsibilities ranging from diagnostic echo and advanced imaging, cath, cardiac critical care, and outpatient follow up.?
Additionally, the third year fellow may be offered the opportunity to participate in WPP outreach missions supervised by division faculty and offering an experience in the delivery of pediatric cardiology and cardiothoracic surgical care in Central and South America. This an extraordinary experience in cultural diversity, leadership, team building, and teaching, and affords the fellow the opportunity to see the natural history of congenital and acquired disease in a severely underserved population.
In addition to clinical activities, the fellow is provided at least 12 months over the course of the 3 years of training to pursue quality improvement and research projects in an area of their choosing.
Conferences:
Fellows are involved in weekly didactic sessions with the attendings. Other conferences include a monthly MRI conference of congenital cases, a joint adult congenital echocardiography conference with the adult cardiologists, journal club and electrophysiology.
How to apply
The Pediatric Cardiology fellowship program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). This fellowship program participates in the National Residency Match Program (NRMP) and the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS). Please submit your fellowship application by Sept. 15, 2020 for positions starting July 8, 2021.
Apply now
Application to the fellowship program is highly competitive. Persons who wish to apply should be board eligible or board-certified in pediatrics. Applications from women and minorities are encouraged.
Click here for the university policy on the selection and recruitment of residents and fellows. Interested applicants should contact Dr. Kerri Carter if there are any further questions.
Contact the pediatric cardiology fellowship team
Fellowship director Kerri Carter, M.D. Assistant Professor, Division of Pediatric Cardiology
Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU
1000 E. Broad Street
Room 5-442
P.O. Box 980026
Richmond, VA 23298-0026
Phone: (804) 624-0051
Email: kerri.carter@vcuhealth.org
Division fellowship coordinator Charlene Spencer Administrative assistant
Division of Pediatric Cardiology
Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU
Children's Pavilion, 5th Floor
1000 East Broad Street
Box 980543
Richmond, Virginia 23298-0543
Fax: (804) 628-5858
Email:charlene.spencer@vcuhealth.org
View more fellowship information such as contract and benefits, policies, housing opportunities, salary scale and required information on the VCU Graduate Medical Education website.
Other links of interest
