Zoltan Varga, MD, PhD

Post-Fellowship

Interventional Cardiologist - St. Mary's Regional Medical Center Russellville, Arkansas
Fellowship

Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship - University of South Dakota Sanford School of Medicine Sioux Falls, SD
Residency

Florida Hospital Medical Center Orlando, FL
Medical School

Univerzita Komenskeho v Bratislave Bratislava, Slovakia
Hometown

Dunajska Streda, Slovak Republic, European Union

Fun Fact About You:

I like to grow and eat extra hot chilli peppers.
What do you enjoying doing in your free time?

Hiking, reading and just resting recharging the batteries.
What was your craziest/best/worst job before residency/fellowship?

Teaching at the medical school as an assistant professor.
If I wasn't a doctor I would be...

working for a big pharma company.
What do you enjoy most about living in Sioux Falls?

Low cost of living.
If there was a movie about your life, what genre would it be and who would be casted as you?

Please ask this question again in 30-40 years. 🙂
Is there anything else you'd like to share about your fellowship experience or about living in Sioux Falls?

The fellows form a close knit group.

Why did you choose this fellowship?

Because of the high procedural exposure.
In your opinion, what is the best thing about your fellowship?

I like the extreme procedural exposure and the supportive attendings.
What, if anything, would surprise a new fellow about the CVD program?

The procedural volumes are extremely high, you’ll be surprised by them even if you expect high volumes.
What's the best perk of your program?

The aforementioned procedural volumes are the best perk, second place would be support to visit a large number of conferences and educational meetings annually. For example, two fellows were scheduled to fly to Paris for the EuroPCR conference this year.
What is one thing you want a prospective fellow to know about our program?

The highlight of the program is the procedural/interventional education, which I believe is second to none in the US. On a personal side, the fellowship is a tight-knit group of fellows, who are hanging out together (significant others included) nearly every week at least once.