Advanced Intensive Postoperative Care Fellowship

Summary

• Bursary: €16,000
• Location: Barcelona
• Duration: Four Months

 

Introduction

This Fellowship provides a chance to gain experience in the postoperative management in adult cardiovascular surgery, as well as a wide exposure to minimally invasive and other advanced techniques in cardiovascular surgery.

Fellowship overview

Successful Fellows will have the opportunity to attend existing relevant courses held at the world-renowned Department of Cardiovascular Surgery at Hospital Clinic de Barcelona (University of Barcelona), and attend symposia, Wetlabs, Congresses, Heart Team meetings, multidisciplinary meetings and simulations.

Moreover, there is the prospect of engaging in research or participating in the scientific production of the Department leading to potential publication in peer reviewed journals.

The academic part of the Fellowship will be delivered via seminars, lectures and individual lessons (provided by the staff surgeons) for the following topics and their postoperative management:

• Temporary mechanical circulatory support (paracorporeal devices)
• Mechanical circulatory support (implantable devices)
• Preparation of the system. Structural components and function
• Clinical application of therapy
• Heart and heart-lung transplantation
• Pulmonary hypertension. Acute pulmonary embolectomy. Chronic disease. Pulmonary tromboendarterectomy
• Transcatheter valve implantation
• Percutaneous approach to mitral valve, perivalvular leaks and LAA appendage occlusion.
• Atrial fibrillation surgery. Ablative energies
• Surgery for concomitant AF ablation
• Aortic arch and thoracoabdominal aorta surgery
• Surgery for adult congenital heart defects
• Postoperative management of GUCH
• Surgical treatment of infective endocarditis
• Complex mitral valve repair (and minimally invasive approaches)
• Advanced cardiorespiratory resuscitation (specific for cardiac surgery)
• Low cardiac output status management
• Mechanical ventilation. NIMV and IMV. ARDS treatment. Nitric oxide management
• Transthoracic echocardiography
• Transesophageal
• Tracheostomy and fibrobroncoscopy
• Renal replacement therapy options
• Epicardial pacing after cardiac surgery

You will be offered the opportunity to attend relevant existing courses held at the University of Barcelona during the Fellowship period. Examples include:

• Master of Mitral Valve Repair (if it coincides with the fellowship)
• Classes for a Master’s Degree in Advanced Cardiovascular Surgery and Critical Care Management (if it coincides with the fellowship)

You will also be encouraged to engage in a research project or participate in the scientific production of the Department.

Funding

The Fellowship includes a generous financial contribution of up to €16,000 towards living and travel costs for the four-month placement. EACTS will subsidise the cost of your attendance at the EACTS Annual Meeting (the largest cardiothoracic meeting in the world).

Successful Fellows will also receive one-to-one support from the EACTS Fellowship Adviser throughout, to ensure you get the most out of this Fellowship.

Gvido Janis Bergs, Pauls Stradins Clinical University Hospital, Riga, Latvia

“I submitted my application at the beginning of the fifth residency year, the last year of my training. It seemed a logic step to go abroad, acquire new skills and find new perspectives on how to approach cardiac surgery cases differently. It is one of the most prestigious fellowships in cardiac surgery and no one from Latvia has ever received it, so it was a great challenge for me to apply and be the first.”

Application and Selection Criteria

In order to apply for this fellowship, you must:

• Be an EACTS member
• Be a last-year resident or a practicing surgeon within the first 5 years after qualification
• Have excellent use of English. The ability to speak Spanish is not a requirement, but it is desirable
• Have attended EACTS Academy courses in the past
• Have attended EACTS Annual Meetings in the past
• Be involved in critical care or plans to do so, including having the potential to lead the postoperative care of patients in the current/future work environment
• Have reasonable baseline knowledge of critical care
• Have an interest in pursuing an academic career
• Have the potential to disseminate knowledge to residents and fellows
• Work in an academic institution

 

The application form must be completed, and the following documents must be provided as part of your application:

• Letter of interest detailing the way in which you meet the application criteria, your career aspirations along with your how you are in a position to apply the skills and knowledge obtained during the Fellowship in your own centre
• Curriculum Vitae (CV), including pertinent publications
• Summary of operative experience
• Letter of support from current supervisor

Application guidance

Please ensure that all documents submitted are written in English, and that they are submitted either as word documents or PDF. We do not accept images or handwritten applications.  We are unable to provide advice or guidance about visa applications, so please ensure that you understand the visa requirements before applying for this Fellowship.

Evaluation and feedback

• There will be MCQ and Clinical case-based assessments at the end of this fellowship.
• There will be periodic meetings with the fellowship director to ensure feedback from the trainee.
• At the end of the fellowship, the fellows will produce a full report (2000-2500 words) on their experience.