Fellows in Training

Join the FIT Community and stay up-to-date with the latest happenings from ACC.12 and throughout the year. Don't miss the regular posts from the "FITs on the GO" on the FIT Blog!

Welcome to the Fellows in Training home page, designed to provide cardiology Fellows in Training educational and networking opportunities, plus the business information needed for advancing their careers. The key to success as a Fellow in Training is involvement and the ACC has many opportunities for you to choose from to help you succeed.

Are you graduating from training soon and looking to advance your membership?

Click Here to find out more about the ACC's FACC Membership.

On This Page

Click on the topic you're interested in below to jump directly to the portion of this page that provides information and resources about it.

• Get Involved
• About FIT Membership & Benefits
• News & Events
• Fellows in Training Newsletter
• The Boards
• Your Career
• More Information

Get Involved

The key to success as a Fellow in Training is involvement and the ACC has many opportunities for you to choose from and to help you succeed.

• FIT CardioSource Community: Meet other Fellows In Training, ask your peers for advice, and find out about upcoming FIT events.
• Mentoring Program: Find a mentor and advance your career.
• FIT Committee: Get involved and influence ACC activities around Fellows in Training. For more information on getting involved, email fellowsintraining@acc.org.
• Training Program: Search our database to find a training program near you.
• Chapters: Get involved at the local level.
• Sections : Join an ACC specialty section for free as an FIT. Get involved, network, lead, and advance your specialty. Available sections are Adult Congenital & Pediatric, Women in Cardiology, and Interventional Scientific.
• Advocacy : Find out what the ACC is doing on Capitol Hill.

About FIT Membership & Benefits

Fellows in training are eligible to receive all of the benefits of College membership, click here to view the FIT Benefits Brochure.

During your training years, ACC membership is complimentary for those in an approved training program and comes with practical benefits including on-line access to the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC) and discounts on educational products and programs.

If you are a cardiology fellow currently training in an approved training program in the U.S. or Canada, your training director has been contacted to obtain your information so that ACC can set up your complimentary membership. Approved programs are those accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) or the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC).

Member benefits include:

• Subscription to Cardiology, the ACC's monthly newsletter
• Free access to this Web site, which offers thousands of clinical images, breaking medical news, the Journal of the American College of Cardiology
• Reduced fees for many extramural programs and ACC educational products.

News & Events

Funding
Secure funding while a Fellow. View our FIT Funding Opportunities document to learn about available opportunities.

Fellows In Training Newsletter

Each quarter the ACC publishes a newsletter just for Fellows in Training. To access current and past issues, click on the links below.

• Fall 2011: 'New Guidelines Posted by ACGME'
• Winter 2011: 'ACC.11 provides career guidance to FITs'
• Fall 2010: 'FITs Sharpen Political Skills at ACC legislative conference'
• Spring 2010: 'The Future Has Arrived! CardioSource.org'
• Winter 2010: 'Get Expert Advice on Planning your Future at ACC.10'
• Fall 2009: 'Is a Multi-Modality CV Imaging Board Exam in Your Future?'
• Winter 2009: 'Salary Not the Bottom Line, Compensation Models and You'
• Spring 2009:'Keeping it All in Balance'
• Fall 2008: 'Subspecialty Certifications: Is it Good to be Board(ed)?'

The Boards

Tools for Success
Preparing for the Boards can be very stressful, but ACC can help!

ACC's offers several educational programs and products designed specifically to help you prepare for the exam:

• ACCSAP 7
• CathSAP 3
• ACCF Cardiovascular Board Review Meeting on Demand
• ACCF/SCAI Interventional Cardiology Board Review Meeting on Demand
• 2011 ACCF/SCAI Premier Interventional Cardiology Overview and Board Preparatory Course
• The ACCF Cardiovascular Board Review Program

Get tips and insights by viewing the presentation 'How to Prepare for the Cardiology Boards' by Abhinav Goyal, M.D., M.H.S. Dr. Goyal will also be speaking to FITs about the Boards at ACC.11 during "FITs: What You Need to Know in Starting a Cardiology Career" on Sunday, April 3 from 12:15 to 1:45 p.m. ET at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in Room R06/R07.

Practice taking an exam similar to the Boards with ACC's new In-Training Exam. Click here for a list of FAQs. Ask your training director to sign your program up to take the In-Training Exam so you and your colleagues will be prepared. The initial ACC-ITE will be administered Oct. 18-20, 2011.

Your Career

As you begin your career in cardiology, take advantage of ACC's resources to find the position that's right for you.

Guide
ACC CardioCareer and CME Guide: this guide will help you find answers on expected compensation, job outlook, career paths and how to set your career up for success.

Compensation
The Medical Group Management Association conducts an annual physician salary survey that includes cardiologists. Below is sample salary data from the 2010 Physician Compensation and Production Survey Report. The MGMA's full survey report is available for purchase on their website.

Source: Physician Compensation Report, 2010. Report based on 2009 data.

For compensation data for academic physicians, the Association of American Medical Colleges publishes an annual Report on Medical School Faculty Salaries. For more information or to purchase the report, visit their website.

Job Web Sites
Begin your job search with these Web sites recommended by your peers. All sites have cardiology specialty listings.

• ACC Cardiology Careers
• CareerMD
• Elsevier Health Careers
• HEALTHeCAREERS Network
• The New England Journal of Medicine

Presentations

• 'Clinical Investigator Careers in an Academic Medical Center,'- Robert A. Harrington, M.D., F.A.C.C., F.S.C.A.I.
• 'A Clinician and an Educator in an Academic Medical Center,' William M. Miles, M.D.
• 'Private Practice Opportunities 2009,' Mike Valentine, M.D.

Articles

• Academic careers in cardiovascular medicine. Fuster V, van der Zee S, Elmariah S, Bonow RO. Circulation. 2009 Feb 10;119(5):754-60. Review. PubMed PMID: 19204318.
• Careers in basic cardiovascular research. Bloch KD. Circulation. 2009 May 12;119(18):2526-30. Review. PubMed PMID: 19433769; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2749983.
• Careers in cardiovascular disease epidemiology and prevention. Luepker RV. Circulation. 2009 Aug 11;120(6):533-8. Review. PubMed PMID: 19667244.
• Careers in cardiovascular outcomes research. Kosiborod M, Spertus JA. Circulation. 2009 Jul 7;120(1):76-81. Review. PubMed PMID: 19581521.
• Careers for clinician investigators. Harrington RA, Califf RM, Hodgson PK, Peterson ED, Roe MT, Mark DB. Circulation. 2009 Jun 9;119(22):2945-50. PubMed PMID: 19506126.
• Choosing a research project and a research mentor. Bettmann M. Circulation. 2009 Apr 7;119(13):1832-5. Review. PubMed PMID: 19349336.
• Finding the right job in clinical practice or academia: advice for young clinicians and investigators. Alpert JS. Circulation. 2010 Apr 27;121(16):1862-5. PubMed PMID: 20421528.
• Funding opportunities for investigators in the early stages of career development. Sumandea CA, Balke CW. Circulation. 2009 Mar 10;119(9):1320-7. Review. PubMed PMID: 19273733.
• Mentoring: making the transition from mentee to mentor. Holmes DR Jr, Hodgson PK, Simari RD, Nishimura RA. Circulation. 2010 Jan 19;121(2):336-40. PubMed PMID: 20083720.
• A roadmap for the twilight zone: navigating United States cardiovascular career development for international trainees. Maree AO, Fitzgerald GA. Circulation. 2009 Oct 13;120(15):1542-9. Review. PubMed PMID: 19822817.

More Information

Have more questions about ACC? Contact Amalea Híjar, the FIT staff liaison, at fellowsintraining@acc.org or (202) 375-6000 or (800) 253-4636.