Message from the Program Director
Established in 2007, our three year ACGME-accredited Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship is a program within the Department of Internal Medicine. It exists in conjunction with the fully-accredited Internal Medicine Residency Program, one of 9 residency and 17 fellowship programs including our interventional cardiology and advanced cardiovascular imaging fellowships.
Our Cardiovascular Fellowship provides extensive clinical, academic and research experiences in state-of-the-art-settings with a diverse patient population. Fellows gain exposure to a wide variety of pathologies and rare cardiovascular conditions not seen in many major centers on a routine basis.
Training takes place at Community Regional Medical Center, home to one of California’s busiest emergency departments and the only Level 1 trauma center and burn unit between Sacramento and Los Angeles. Additional training sites include the VA Central California Health Care System and University of California San Francisco, Parnassus Campus. Our full-time faculty are dedicated to teaching fellows at the highest level. The program imparts the core competencies required by the Core Cardiovascular Training Statement recommendations for basic training in adult cardiovascular medicine. In addition, fellows may tailor their learning to meet individual areas of interest.
Fellows receive hands-on training in both the catheterization laboratory and non-invasive cardiology. Diagnostic catheterizations and transesophageal echocardiography are performed with an attending. Fellows also assist with percutaneous coronary intervention and structural procedures.
We also have a well-developed program in advanced cardiac imaging, including cardiac MRI, CT angiography and 3D Echo.
Exposure to advanced cardiac support including ECMO, Impella, left ventricular assist device and a full range of electrophysiology procedures are part of the training program.
Fellows attend daily didactic sessions directed by several faculty members.
Participation in fully-mentored, high-quality research or quality improvement projects for presentation and publication is required. Fellows are also strongly encouraged to attend the scientific sessions of the American Heart Association and/or the American College of Cardiology each year.
Three highly qualified physicians are admitted each year through the Electronic Residency Application Service.
Richard Kiel, MD
Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, UCSF
Program Director, Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship Program
Medical Director, Heart Failure Services
Richard Kiel, MD
