About the Interventional Cardiology Fellowship Program

The Interventional Cardiology Fellowship program is designed to train fellows in the use of percutaneous interventional techniques in the management of coronary, peripheral vascular and valvular heart disease. The one-year program is comprehensive, structured and supervised by a board-certified staff totaling more than 100 years of interventional experience. Fellows train at both the VCU Medical Center and the Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center.

The training includes didactic conferences, weekly case conferences, and individual fellow and faculty clinical patient reviews (pre- and post-procedure) to discuss risk, benefit, results, treatment strategies and complications. Fellow experience is very individualized with one-on-one faculty interactions for each procedure. Trainees also assist in teaching diagnostic fellows, medicine residents and other student groups, such as biomedical and undergraduate.

Program emphasis is placed on giving fellows ample opportunity to learn appropriate technical skills for safe coronary and peripheral intervention using multiple devices (including rotational atherectomy, balloons, stents, filter devices), and to advance and refine diagnostic cath skills.

Facilities

The VCU Medical Center has four cath labs. All are digital and linked with a mass storage archival device for easy retrieval of prior comparative studies. All have "deep throats" for peripheral runoffs. The Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center has two labs with digital acquisition and an archival storage system. Both institutions have on-site cardiac surgery as well as cardiac transplant programs, including the availability of destination LVADS and the Total Artificial Heart

Accreditation

We are fully accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education for a one-year ABIM Board eligible Interventional training program for three fellows per year. Board pass rates have been excellent.

Curriculum & Conferences content coming soon!

Scholarship content coming soon!

Content coming soon!

• Richard Cooke, MD
• Jose Emilio Exaire, MD
• Zachary M. Gertz, MD
• Ion Jovin, MD, ScD
• Barbara D. Lawson, MD
• Anthony Minisi, MD

Class of 2020

Eligibility Requirements

A major aim of the Interventional Cardiology fellowship is to offer comprehensive training that will prepare fellows for careers in either academic medicine or clinical practice. 

We offer one to three Interventional Cardiology fellowship positions alternating year.

1. Fellows must have U.S. citizenship or a permanent or J1 Visa.  YOU MUST POSSESS YOUR PERMANENT OR J-1 VISA AT THE TIME OF YOUR FELLOWSHIP APPLICATION. H-1 Visa will NOT be considered.
2. Graduates of foreign (not U.S. or Canadian) medical schools should have three years of residency in internal medicine in the primary hospital of a university medical school in the U.S. or Canada and be on track to complete an ACGME accredited Cardiology Fellowship.
3. Personal statements should provide background information about you. We are interested in knowing why you have chosen Interventional Cardiology and what you plan to do after fellowship.

How to Apply

Application to the Interventional Cardiology Fellowship: 

All applications to the Interventional Cardiology Fellowship Program 2021 – 2022 year should go through ERAS, starting December 1. The timeline for application for medical subspecialty fellowships has been modified. This will leave very little time for completion of applications, review of applications, and selection of applicants for interviews. 

Any interested applicants are urged to start their application process early. Requests for USMLE reports, reference letters, and other supporting documentation should be ready for submission on December 1 when you receive your applicant number from ERAS. We would recommend to applicants that they have all of the information required for the ERAS application form ready for submission on December 1. When reference letters are requested, we recommend that faculty members be notified that their letters should be ready for submission to ERAS on December 1, if possible.

*** The majority of the documents described in “Required Documents” are required by ERAS. However, ERAS will not scan several of the documents that we require, i.e. social security card, copy of Virginia medical license (if you have one), ECFMG certificate; copy of your J1 or green card; medical school diploma (and translation where applicable). **Please have original, notarized or certified notarized original documents ready to be mailed, IF selected. Do not send prior to being selected.

VCU School of Medicine
Department of Internal Medicine
Box 980509
Richmond, VA 23298-0509
Phone: (804) 828-9726
Email: imfellowships@vcuhealth.org 

Required Documents

All applicants must apply through ERAS and register with the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP). Along with your application, we require several documents that ERAS does not scan. **A copy of Virginia medical license (if you have one); ECFMG certificate; Certified original and or notarized copy copy of your J1 or green card; Certified original and or notarized copy medical school diploma (and translation where applicable); and a fourth reference letter.

Our ideal candidate has completed three years of Residency in an ACGME accredited Internal Medicine in a university hospital and has completed an ACGME accredited Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship Program.

Application Timeline

We plan on interviewing applicants starting in mid-December through February. We will begin to review applications on December 15 and priority will be given to applications that are complete. Our deadline for applications will be December 31.

Interview Information

Recruitment Itinerary:

7:30 – 8:30 am Breakfast with fellows
Tour of VCU by Fellow
3 – 30 minute interviews with faculty: Dr. Cooke, Dr. Gertz, Dr. Exaire and Dr. Lawson
11:30 – 12:00 - Travel to VA
12:00 – 1:00 Lunch with Faculty and Fellow 
3 – 30 minute interview with Dr. Jovin, Dr. Minisi, TBA
Tour of VA by fellow.

Program Director

Jose Exaire, MD
VCU School of Medicine
Department of Internal Medicine
Box 980036
Richmond, VA 23298-0036
Email: jose.exaire@vcuhealth.org

Fellowship Coordinator

VCU School of Medicine
Department of Internal Medicine
Box 980509
Richmond, VA 23298-0509 
Phone: (804) 828-9726
Email: imfellowships@vcuhealth.org