Cardiovascular Disease

Through the Cardiovascular Disease fellowship program, our fellows gain exposure to a large volume of clinical cases, procedures, and educational conferences to produce independent and efficient practitioners. This program trains fellows at least level 2 training in all required areas of cardiology, including full-spectrum of non-invasive cardiology and invasive diagnostic procedures, and allows fellows to complete multiple “partial boards” during the training for comprehensive training.

Mission

Through a very comprehensive, intense, yet balanced exposure to all aspects of cardiovascular disease, the program graduates cardiologists capable of succeeding in any clinical setting, giving our fellows the opportunity to thrive in any cardiology career with a target of success in rural practice.

Aims

Fellows will receive a comprehensive, intense, yet balanced exposure to all aspects of cardiovascular disease during the fellowship.
Fellows are exposed to a large volume of clinical cases, procedures, and educational conferences to produce independent and efficient practitioners.
Fellows will obtain at least level 2 training in all required areas of cardiology, including full spectrum of noninvasive cardiology and diagnostic invasive procedures.
Fellows are able to complete multiple “partial boards” during the training (i.e. echo, nuclear, cardiac CT) for the purposes of comprehensive training.
Program graduates will succeed in the broad scope of cardiology with independence and efficiency in any type of clinical setting.

Program Curriculum

The program consists of a variety of clinical experiences and didactic conferences. Fellows rotate on several inpatient services and outpatient services and provide both direct and consultative care. Procedural skills are gained as fellows rotate through the invasive and non-invasive laboratories. A final aspect of the curriculum involves fellow involvement in teaching.

View Full Curriculum

Training Sites

Fellows train at Sanford Heart Hospital in Sioux Falls, SD. The Heart Hospital is Sanford's newest building with patient rooms designed to comfort and provide a calm, healing space to treat patients and packed with the latest innovative technology.

View Sites

Photo Courtesy of Experience Sioux Falls

Life in Sioux Falls

Get to know the city of Sioux Falls, SD. Sioux Falls is the largest city in South Dakota. It has everything you want out of a big city but with a low cost of living and low crime rates. We hope you'll call it home as you continue your medical education (and who knows, maybe even longer!)

Explore Sioux Falls

Why Choose this Program

Every program has something different to offer. One has to decide what career path they want to choose. I am interested in interventional cardiology, hence for me the real hands on experience and number of cases matter. I interviewed at many places and found USD Sanford to be the best in terms of procedural numbers and skills. In the end it is always about what you can extract from a program.

Aditya Singh, MD Cardiovascular Disease Fellow, Class of 2022 Meet Fellow
This program cuts the chaff- no scut work, no non-learning opportunities. The faculty works hard to ensure we have the best chance possible to focus on our learning.

Brian Simpson, MD Cardiovascular Disease Fellow, Class of 2021 Meet Fellow
Come here for solid, old-school training. Fellow skills are rewarded with ever increasing autonomy. Our PD has our backs and listens to opinions of fellows.

Jeffrey Wilson, MD Cardiovascular Disease Fellow, Class of 2021 Meet Fellow
This is a tight-knit group of fellows, working in a hospital that provides the best procedural/interventional education. Expect to get true hands on experience with interventional equipment during PCI your first year of your fellowship, which is a rare. Although our fellowship prepares fellows for any potential career path, because of this, the majority ends up matching into an IV fellowship.

Zoltan Varga, MD, PhD Cardiovascular Disease Fellow, Class of 2021 Meet Fellow
You will be supported by an elite team with a wide array of skills and expertise. You will learn to manage a general cardiology service and logistics to coordinate cardiology care in a rural area. You learn the basics of all imaging and procedural modalities cardiology has to offer while exceeding the required procedure numbers.

Andrew Thorp, MD Cardiovascular Disease Fellow, Class of 2022 Meet Fellow
I was fortunate to train under Dr. Adam’s leadership. He treats his fellows as a close associate than a fellow. He always protects his fellows and supportive of any educational necessity we request. If I am asked to choose again to train my cardiovascular disease training, I would opt to train under Dr. Adam’s leadership.

Maheedhar Gedela, MD Cardiovascular Disease Fellow, Class of 2020 Meet Fellow
The program offers a variety of clinical experiences in all subspecialties of cardiology with a great degree of autonomy. One gets the opportunity to work with an exceptionally talented group of physicians with the advantage of the large patient population. This contributes to the tremendous breadth, both in variety and complexity, of cardiac patients and procedures.

Udit Bhatnagar, MD Cardiovascular Disease Fellow, Class of 2019 Meet Fellow
The workflow of fellows mirrors that of their attendings, which is what most 'real-world' jobs will be like.

Chirag Desai, MD Cardiovascular Disease Fellow, Class of 2019 Meet Fellow

Virtual Visits

Our fellows have guided our efforts to present our philosophy of education to you. We have always been told that the in-person visit “seals the deal” and we are hopeful that the “virtual visit” will accomplish the same goal this year.

Take The Tour

What's next?

We invite you to continue learning more about our Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship Program!