Program Description

The Department of Cardiology at Regions Hospital offers a structured and comprehensive post-graduate program to Physician Assistants and Nurse Practitioners interested in advanced training in Cardiology. The program provides clinical and didactic experiences in a variety of supportive teaching environments and specialties to foster critical thinking, interprofessional collaboration, competence and confidence, helping the APC fellow successfully transition into the role of Cardiology APC at an accelerated rate.

Length of Program: 12 months

Class Size: 1 fellow per year

Start Date: January

Recruitment:  Application currently open for a January 2027 start date.

Licensures Accepted: PA | FNP | AGNP | ACNP

Sites:

• Primary: Regions Hospital
• Rotations: Regions Hospital, Lakeview Hospital, HP Specialty Clinics

Program Curriculum

Clinical

The Cardiology APC fellow spends a significant portion of their training in clinic learning chronic cardiovascular disease management and on the inpatient cardiology consult services to learn management of acute, decompensated cardiovascular conditions. They also rotate with other cardiac and medical subspecialties deemed essential for proficiency as listed below. Additionally, in the latter half of the fellowship, the APC fellow will have the opportunity to start building their own patient panel through participation in a cardiology continuity clinic.

• Outpatient Cardiology Clinics
• Inpatient Cardiology Consults
• Cardiac Care Unit
• Cardiac Electrophysiology
• Hospital Medicine
• Medical Intensive Care Unit
• Non-Invasive Imaging
• Pulmonary Hypertension
• Interventional Cardiology
• Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit
• Cardiac Rehab
• Community Hospital Cardiology

 

Didactic

Using the American College of Cardiology APC Competencies as the foundation of study, the APC fellowship provides access to multi-specialty lectures, grand rounds presentations, individualized learning sessions, online educational materials, and skills training to foster the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively assess, coordinate and deliver evidence-based and cost-effective care to adult patients with acute and chronic cardiovascular conditions.

Schedule

The Cardiology APC fellows work Monday-Friday day shifts. Rare evening and weekend shifts may be required for specialty rotations, which will be communicated about prior. APC fellows can expect to work approximately 40 hours per week with 10-hour shifts preferred. Starting midway through the fellowship, there will be 1 day of continuity clinic every other week which will increase to weekly as the APC fellow’s patient panel grows.

Required Certifications: BLS and ACLS, obtained prior to start date

Program Faculty:

Program Director: Kristina Jelacic, CNP

Medical Director: Sunny Kaul, MD