Ukrainian Support Fellowship

Summary

• Grant: €7,500
• Location: Barcelona
• Duration: 3 months.
• For Ukrainian EACTS Members / Applicants only

Introduction

Since the beginning of the war, EACTS has looked into opportunities to support the Ukrainian cardiovascular surgery community. Beyond the political and economic support offered recently, EACTS wants to focus directly on trainees that have had their teaching activities compromised as a result of the conflict.

Recently the EACTS Council has also approved funding for the inception of a new Fellowship program through the Francis Fontan Fund. The Department of Cardiovascular Surgery at Hospital Clínic de Barcelona will be hosting this fellowship for a three-month period with a focus on continuing surgical education in Cardiovascular Surgery and Intensive Care Management related to the specialty, for Ukrainian residents.

During this period, the fellow will have the opportunity to engage in daily clinical practices along with the staff physicians, residents and fellows. The Department delivers care to all spectrum of adult cardiovascular surgery diseases and has the unique feature of having an ICU that is completely managed by surgeons. Thus, the fellow has the option to see holistically all aspects related to surgical care, from preoperative assessment in the outpatient clinic, to surgical management, intensive postoperative care and back to the outpatient clinic. This offers a unique approach to the specialty.

Fellowship Overview

Successful Fellows will have the opportunity to attend the daily clinical practice and operating room experience at the Department. They will also be able to attend all multidisciplinary weekly meetings that include:

• Endocarditis heart team
• Aorta unit
• Structural and heart valve team
• Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy team
• Ischemic heart disease team
• Pulmonary Tromboendarterectomy
• GUCH
• Transplantation and mechanical circulatory support

The syllabus of this fellowship will expand on the following topics:

• Valve replacement and repair. Conventionally and minimally invasive (including robotics)
• CABG. On and off pump. Conventional, MIDCAB and robotically assisted.
• Proximal aorta surgery, including valve sparing operations
• Ross procedure
• Mechanical circulatory support (temporary and implantable devices)
• Heart transplantation
• DCD donation
• Pulmonary tromboendarterectomy
• Transcatheter valve implantation
• Surgery for hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (myectomy)
• Surgery for atrial fibrillation
• Aortic arch and thoracoabdominal aorta surgery
• Surgery for GUCH
• Surgery for retrieval of ICED
• Surgical treatment of complex infective endocarditis (homografts, Commando operation)
• Pericardial surgery (constrictive pericarditis)
• Postoperative management of all the above conditions
• CALS training for management of post cardiac surgery resuscitation

The fellows will also be able to attend all Departmental daily meetings, residents/fellows weekly meetings, Cardiovascular Institute weekly Grand Rounds and all the training courses, Symposiums, wetlabs that are held locally during their stay.

Clinical research opportunities are always present within the Department.

This fellowship will also facilitate cultural interaction for professional and human growth of all members of the team. The Department of Cardiovascular Surgery is delighted to offer this training opportunity for colleagues going through this difficult situation.

Funding

The Fellowship includes a financial contribution of €7,500 towards living and travel costs for the three-month placement. EACTS will subsidise the cost of your attendance at the 2024 EACTS Annual Meeting (the largest cardiothoracic meeting in the world) to a value of €500, you will also receive free registration.

Application and selection criteria

In order to apply for this fellowship, you must:

• Be an EACTS member
• Be a resident in Ukraine that has had the residency program compromised due to the current situation
• Have excellent use of English. The ability to speak Spanish is not a requirement, but it is desirable
• Ideally, have attended EACTS Academy courses in the past
• Ideally, have attended EACTS Annual Meetings in the past
• Have an interest in pursuing an academic career
• Have the potential to disseminate knowledge to other residents
• 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 describing training objectives and interests
• Curriculum Vitae (CV), including pertinent publications
• Summary of operative experience
• Letter of support from current supervisor

 

Evaluation and feedback

There will be Clinical case-based assessments during and 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. The fellows will eventually present this during the EACTS annual meeting.