Journal of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery

The field of pediatric cardiology has made remarkable progress in the care of children with congenital heart disease. In the United States, the services provided by cardiologists have become highly specialized, necessitating advanced subspecialty training. Along with this evolution was a recent shift in medical education that focuses on a new framework of competency-based training. In 2015, the training guidelines for pediatric cardiology fellowship were revised to meet the standards set by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. There were eight task force documents delineating the training guidelines for the various subspecialties. After completion of a 3-year fellowship, qualifying fellows are eligible to take the board examination for pediatric cardiology. The American Board of Pediatrics maintains the process for initial and subsequent pediatric cardiology certification. In the United States, the challenge for graduating fellows to find suitable positions after completion of training is now greater than in the previous years. To assess this situation, a workforce survey was performed which showed that the field of pediatric cardiology is highly competitive and that maintaining the current number of fellowship positions in the United States was advisable. More than half of the fellows pursued additional subspecialty training after completion of the standard 3-year core fellowship. To highlight the recent changes in the medical education, training guidelines, and work environment in pediatric cardiology, we described the fellowship program at the Children’s Hospital of Michigan, including the key components, such as training rotation schedule, educational programs, and committees.