Cardiovascular disease fellowship

The Corewell Health – Grand Rapids/Michigan State University Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship program at Corewell Health Frederik Meijer Heart & Vascular Institute is committed to providing the best academic and clinical training program for our fellows. Our cardiology continuum of care philosophy ensures our fellows are provided a tremendous clinical experience in a multi-disciplinary setting.

As a fellow in our program, you will pursue your passion in clinical or academic cardiology. For interested fellows, we offer certification in echocardiography, nuclear cardiology, vascular imaging and diagnostic cardiac catheterization beyond the core cardiology curriculum. We also offer an advanced fellowship for multimodality imaging (MRI/CT/TEE/Nuclear), ACGME-accredited interventional cardiology and ACGME-accredited advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology. Our network of care that spans 13 counties in West Michigan and our experts perform more advanced lifesaving heart and vascular procedures than any other hospital in Michigan. We are also a state leader year after year, in percutaneous coronary intervention for STEMI volumes. We always strive to adopt the latest technologies, including WatchmanTM, transcatheter aortic valve replacement, Mitraclip, chronic total occlusion interventions, and the latest LVAD devices. Our high LVAD and electrophysiology volumes allow fellows the opportunity to participate in complex procedures led by expert cardiologists. We also have an active heart and lung transplant program with excellent outcomes.

Watch as the cardiovascular fellows take you on a tour of Corewell Health Grand Rapids Hospitals facilities.

Nagib Chalfoun, MD, program director for the cardiovascular disease fellowship, discusses highlights of training at Corewell Health in West Michigan.

Thank you for considering the Corewell Health – Grand Rapids/Michigan State University Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship at Corewell Health Frederik Meijer Heart & Vascular Institute for your cardiovascular disease training. We are committed to providing the best academic and clinical training program for our fellows.

Our passion is teaching, and our entire program is designed with the fellow in mind. Our fellows will train at the largest medical center in West Michigan, affiliated with Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. Our cardiology continuum of care philosophy ensures our fellows are provided a tremendous clinical experience in a multi-disciplinary setting. We currently accept four fellows per year. As a fellow in our program, you will pursue your passion in clinical or academic cardiology. For interested fellows, we offer level 2 certification in echocardiography, nuclear cardiology, vascular imaging and diagnostic cardiac catheterization beyond the core cardiology curriculum.

In addition to our general cardiovascular disease fellowship, we offer an ACGME-accredited interventional cardiology fellowship for two fellows per year, as well as an ACGME-accredited acute heart failure and transplant cardiology fellowship for one to two fellows per year. We also have a one year advanced fellowship in multimodality imaging (MRI/CT/TEE/Nuclear).

Our tremendous procedural volumes allow fellows to participate in transplant cardiology, cardiac CT/MRI, electrophysiology, interventional cardiology, vascular cardiology, adult congenital cardiology and preventive cardiology. We are dedicated to high quality outcomes and exceptional patient experience. Our dynamic educational conference series focuses on your educational needs. In addition, our cardiovascular research program allows fellows to support novel investigator-initiated research studies. Fellows have the opportunity to be part of a quality program initiative and research.

On behalf of the cardiology faculty, our goal is to make your fellowship training the best in the country. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions.

Sincerely,
Nagib Chalfoun, MD, FHRS, FACC
Cardiac Electrophysiology
Corewell Health in West Michigan
Program Director, Cardiology Fellowship
Corewell Health – Grand Rapids/Michigan State University
Senior Academic Advisor
Frederik Meijer Heart and Vascular Institute
Associate Professor of Medicine
Michigan State University

Michael McNamara, MD, associate program director for the cardiovascular disease fellowship, discusses highlights of training at Corewell Health in West Michigan.

1. The overall goal of the cardiology fellowship program is to prepare individuals to be competent clinical cardiologists
2. It is the expectation that trainees will provide excellent and compassionate care of those with cardiovascular conditions, become life-long independent learners and enhance their understanding of themselves and others regarding cardiovascular disease.
3. All training will be accomplished in an environment that maximizes fellow education, patient safety and the well-being of the fellow physicians and their patients. By the end of the fellowship, the trainees will be able to function as well trained, independent cardiologists in either a community or academic based practice.

Through our strong collaboration with Michigan State University and Van Andel Research Institute, fellows will discover an environment that prepares them for clinical challenges and rewards ahead. Our strong commitment to patient care, education and research has helped us become a leader in cardiovascular care throughout the region.

In addition to the many procedures listed above, Butterworth Hospital was one of the first hospitals to introduce the Watchman^TM left atrial appendage closure device. We are also one of 20 locations in the country performing varicose vein treatment with Venaseal technology, and the first Michigan health system to perform Topera 3D Mapping for atrial fibrillation.

As a nationally recognized health care system, Corewell Health in West Michigan provides high quality clinical care to thousands of patients each year. Here are some of our clinical volumes from 2020 – 2021.

The curriculum of the cardiovascular fellowship training program is designed to meet the goals delineated by the American College of Cardiology Task Force for Training in Clinical Cardiology (COCATS) and the ACGME. The 36-month curriculum gives exposure to the essential rotations in general cardiology including:

• Four months of cardiac catheterization
• Six months noninvasive imaging: echocardiography, nuclear imaging, cardiac MRI/MRA, CTA and peripheral vascular imaging
• Six months general clinical cardiology: inpatient cardiology consultation, CCU, exercise testing, rehabilitation, ECG interpretation
• In the third year, fellows can devote more time to advanced training in invasive and noninvasive techniques as well as electives. The curriculum is designed in such a way to allow fellows enough clinical months, depending on which electives they choose, to become COCATS level 2 eligible in echocardiography, nuclear imaging, and cardiac diagnostic catheterization.
• In addition, one block each year will be devoted to research. All fellows are required to complete at least one abstract per year and submit it to a national meeting. Ideally, each fellow should also submit one manuscript to a peer reviewed journal during their three years of training.

Education has been a long-standing mission of Spectrum Health/Michigan State University and Spectrum Health Frederik Meijer Heart and Vascular Institute. Faculty have designed a dedicated lecture series designed for fellows addressing basic management of all aspects of cardiology specifically geared towards fellows during their first few months of training. In addition, the faculty have a list of conferences throughout the year that both fellows, attendings and staff are expected to attend. These include:

At the Spectrum Health Frederik Meijer Heart and Vascular Institute, our cardiology faculty are actively involved in innovative clinical research. Clinical research is a part of our key strategic vision and cardiovascular has an active research portfolio that focuses on industry clinical trials, pre-clinical animal studies and investigator-initiated studies. We have a large cardiovascular research department that provides support to our physicians and includes research nurses, coordinators, assistants, statisticians, budget negotiations, financial analysis and Q&A.

Beside the clinical training in all subspecialties of cardiology we have a specific research academy for our fellows – The DeVos Research Academy. It provides a scientific training program to provide the tools to actively participate in our research projects. We have several research registries within critical care, mechanical circulatory support, electrophysiology and coronary diseases. Grand Valley State University

The Frederik Meijer Heart and Vascular Institute also works in collaboration with numerous institutions across the globe, including Stanford, Karolinska Institute, Bonn University, Van Andel Research Institute, Michigan State University and Grand Valley State University. Our experts are involved in multicenter clinical trials and investigator-initiated studies, in addition to a translational research division. Our clinical volumes have enabled us to become top enrollers in multiple trials such as the global Surgical Replacement and Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation trial, where we were a top two enroller in the country.

All positions for the program are filled through the National Residency Matching Program. Eligibility requirements for our fellowship program:

• Applications are only accepted through the Electronic Residency Application Service only, paper applications will not be considered
• All applicants must possess U.S. work authorization or be eligible for J-1 status
• Applicants must have completed three years of United States postgraduate residency training in an ACGME- or RCPSC-accredited internal medicine program before entry into the fellowship program
• Applicants must be an MD or DO
• Applicants must have good communication skills

For more information, please contact Liz Charney, cardiovascular disease program coordinator.

The Corewell Health – Grand Rapids/Michigan State University Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology Fellowship at the Corewell Health Frederick Meijer Heart & Vascular Institute is a one-year subspecialty fellowship designed to train cardiologists in the management of patients with advanced heart failure, mechanical circulatory support, heart transplantation and pulmonary hypertension. At the completion of our program, fellows will be eligible for certification in the subspecialty of Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology by the American Board of Internal Medicine and meet the requirements for UNOS certification as a heart transplant cardiologist.

The Corewell Health - Grand Rapids/Michigan State University College of Human Medicine Interventional Cardiology Fellowship at Corewell Health Frederik Meijer Heart & Vascular Institute is a one-year subspecialty fellowship designed to train individuals to perform interventional procedures in the cardiac catheterization laboratory. Fellows selected for this program will continue their education by gaining impressive, hands-on experience with laboratory hours, procedural participation and patient interaction.

Interventional cardiology is an advancing section of the study of cardiovascular care. To continue improving the way we provide care for our patients, we aim to make our program one that will include top-of-the-line training opportunities with innovative technologies and ground-breaking techniques.

Spectrum Health provides a comprehensive and very competitive benefits package for our residents, staff and their families. In addition, our program provides educational monies to support your ongoing education. Download our salary and benefits document to learn more.

Our teaching faculty at Spectrum Health/Michigan State University are committed to teaching our fellows to become excellent cardiologists, as well as exemplary physicians. We are very proud of the commitment that every single employed physician within our division has made to become teaching faculty. The cardiovascular disease core faculty serve as the governing team that creates the curriculum, and the day-to-day teaching is performed by our entire division. We are proud of our “all in” commitment in the creation of the fellowship and its success. Core faculty and executive faculty, made up of section chiefs, govern the fellowship creating a well-rounded educational experience. We meet monthly to ensure our fellows have adequate teaching and support. Fellows are taught on a day-to-day basis by the entire division compromised of 50 teaching faculty who have trained at prestigious institutions. Our team is dedicated to professionally challenge and mentor our fellows to become excellent cardiologists.

Click here for our list of comprehensive teaching faculty and training.