The HFSA Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology Fellowship Consensus Conference.
Mark H Drazner, Amrut V Ambardekar, Kathryn Berlacher, Vanessa Blumer, Safia Chatur, Richard Cheng, Richard K Cheng, E Wilson Grandin, Eiran Z Gorodeski, Rachna Kataria, Jason N Katz, Michelle M Kittleson, Arun Krishnamoorthy, Anuradha Lala, Andrew J Lenneman, Nicole L Lohr, Kenneth B Margulies, Robert J Mentz, Nosheen Reza, Jane Wilcox, Quentin R Youmans, Shelley Zieroth, John R Teerlink
Author Information
Mark H Drazner: Division of Cardiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas. Electronic address: Mark.drazner@UTsouthwestern.edu.
Amrut V Ambardekar: Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology; University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado.
Kathryn Berlacher: Heart and Vascular Institute, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Vanessa Blumer: Inova Schar and Vascular Institute, Falls Church, Virginia.
Safia Chatur: Cardiovascular Division, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
Richard Cheng: Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine; University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California.
Richard K Cheng: Division of Cardiology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.
E Wilson Grandin: Division of Cardiology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
Eiran Z Gorodeski: Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute, University Hospitals, and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio.
Rachna Kataria: Department of Cardiology, Lifespan Cardiovascular Institute, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island.
Jason N Katz: Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina.
Michelle M Kittleson: Department of Cardiology, Smidt Heart Institute-Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California.
Anuradha Lala: Zena and Michael A. Wiener Cardiovascular Institute & Department of Population Health Science & Policy at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York.
Andrew J Lenneman: Division of Cardiovascular Disease; University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama.
Nicole L Lohr: Division of Cardiovascular Disease; University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama.
Kenneth B Margulies: Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Robert J Mentz: Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina.
Nosheen Reza: Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Jane Wilcox: Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois.
Quentin R Youmans: Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois.
Shelley Zieroth: Section of Cardiology, Max Rady College of Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
John R Teerlink: Section of Cardiology, San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center and School of Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California.
There is waning interest among cardiology trainees in pursuing an Advanced Heart Failure/Transplant Cardiology (AHFTC) fellowship as evidenced by fewer applicants in the National Resident Matching Program match to this specialty. This trend has generated considerable attention across the heart failure community. In response, the Heart Failure Society of America convened the AHFTC Fellowship Task Force with a charge to develop strategies to increase the value proposition of an AHFTC fellowship. Subsequently, the HFSA sponsored the AHFTC Fellowship Consensus Conference April 26-27, 2023. Before the conference, interviews of 44 expert stakeholders diverse across geography, site of practice (traditional academic medical center or other centers), specialty/area of expertise, sex, and stage of career were conducted virtually. Based on these interviews, potential solutions to address the declining interest in AHFTC fellowship were categorized into five themes: (1) alternative training pathways, (2) regulatory and compensation, (3) educational improvements, (4) exposure and marketing for pipeline development, and (5) quality of life and mental health. These themes provided structure to the deliberations of the AHFTC Fellowship Consensus Conference. The recommendations from the Consensus Conference were subsequently presented to the HFSA Board of Directors to inform strategic plans and interventions. The HFSA Board of Directors later reviewed and approved submission of this document. The purpose of this communication is to provide the HF community with an update summarizing the processes used and concepts that emerged from the work of the HFSA AHFTC Fellowship Task Force and Consensus Conference.
