Cardiovascular Surgery Track

The Cardiovascular Surgery track of the PHI PA/NP Fellowship program is for the fellow to develop the clinical acumen to work as an integral part of any cardiothoracic surgery team. The fellow will rotate through several specialties during their tenure to expand their skillset, allowing them to provide comprehensive preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative surgical care to complex cardiothoracic surgery patients. A great portion of the program will focus on mastering the endovascular vein harvesting skills sought after by cardiac surgery programs worldwide. Other operating room exposure will be first assisting in vascular and thoracic cases, as well as closing chests independently in the cardiac rooms. The program will traverse inpatient floor, ICU, operating rooms and outpatient clinics with the majority of care being inpatient. Procedural skills will also be taught at the bedside both in the ICU as well as on the floor/clinic.

In addition to the hands-on clinical experience, each fellow will be involved in various research components and will be encouraged to present findings at service conferences as well as local/national academic conferences. There will be educational time bi-weekly with lectures, presentations and hands on skills labs, as well as morbidity/mortality conferences and quality meetings. Our fellows will work alongside experts from one of the nation’s top hospitals for heart surgery and ECMO. Piedmont Atlanta is one of the highest LVAD and Heart Transplant Centers by volume in the country. The ECMO program at Piedmont Atlanta has earned Gold designation from the international Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) and is the first hospital in the US to earn Extracorporeal Life Support certification from DNV-GL Healthcare.

Their responsibilities will include management of stable and emergent surgical patients, as well as critically ill patients in the ICU. They will be involved in the admission, consultation, procedures, operations, medication adjustments, and comprehensive management of these patients. Fellows will take pager call and surgical call following an orientation phase with an experienced provider backup. Evaluations will be completed by each service or rotation, and quarterly meetings will be held with the director of the program to promote progression through the program. Written and oral examinations will be given throughout the tenure of the program to ensure competencies are being adequately covered.

Core Curriculum

Didactic – 20%

Cardiac Surgical Unit Advanced Life Support Course
Resident Lecture Series
CT Surgery M&M
Journal Club
Rotation Based Case presentations
3 Written Examinations
1 Oral Examination
Online Learning Modules
Daily Self-Study
Weekly Readings
2 CME weeks

Clinical – 80%

Admit and mange stable and emergent preoperative CTS patients
Present in daily rounds with Surgeons and fellow APPs
Work directly alongside consulting service lines
Participate in CVOR cases with vein harvesting, first assisting, and chest closure
See outpatient clinic patients in consultation or post-operative follow up
Provide wound care
Learn core management of preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative cardiothoracic patients
Rotate through other specialties as listed below
Be exposed to/credentialed for the following skills:
- Placement of central lines
- Placement of arterial lines
- Placement of thoracostomy tubes
- Thoracentesis
- Removal of epicardial pacing wires
- Intra-Aortic Balloon Pump removal
- Emergent Chest Re-Entry (CALS)
- Point of Care Ultrasound
- Local Wound Care