The American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association and the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions jointly outlined competency-based training requirements for interventional cardiology trainees.
The document defines training requirements for the full breadth of interventional cardiology for adults, according to a Feb. 16 news release.
The guidelines provide a road map for program directors and interventional cardiology trainees, Theodore Bass, MD, chair of the Advanced Training Statement writing committee, said in the release. "The document defines the required competencies for the full scope of interventional cardiology, providing trainees for the first time with the information to support training across all these areas."
Among those requirements are:
- Cardiovascular fellows must complete a three-year general cardiovascular disease fellowship, a one-year accredited interventional cardiology fellowship focused on coronary intervention and an option for additional post-fellowship training based on the trainee's career goals.
- Level III training includes competency requirements, including medical knowledge, patient care and procedural skills, practice-based learning and improvement, systems-based practice, interpersonal and communication skills, and professionalism.
- The committee recommends a minimum of 250 interventional cardiology procedures. Of those, 200 should be coronary procedures, with the remaining 50 specialized in coronary, peripheral vascular or structural heart interventions.
- Adjunctive procedures related to physiologic assessment and intracoronary imaging are required.
- Trainees must acquire experience working as part of a multidisciplinary team to provide a holistic approach to patient care.