In 2010, the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) examination for the subspecialty of Advanced Heart Failure/ Transplant Cardiology (AHFTC) was administered for the first time, giving birth to the subspeciality of AHFTC. Since that time, over 1,400 candidates have been ABIM AHFTC certified.
Since 2020, AHFTC fellowship and training programs have experienced a decline in the number of trainees choosing to apply for fellowships, leaving many programs with unfilled positions. In 2022, in response to the issue and with the intention of identifying solutions, the HFSA Board of Directors (BOD) established the AHFTC Fellowship Task Force in January 2023. The charge of the Task Force is to identify initiatives to increase the value proposition of an Advanced Heart Failure Transplant Cardiology fellowship.
The Task Force is planning a Consensus Conference for April 26-27, 2023 in Atlanta. The goal of the conference is to make recommendations to the HFSA BOD in May, 2023.
AHFTC Task Force Charge:
To identify initiatives to increase the value proposition of an Advanced Heart Failure Transplant Cardiology (AHFTC) fellowship
Members:
Chair: Mark Drazner, MD, MSc
- Amrut Ambardekar, MD, FHFSA
- Vanessa Blumer, MD
- Safia Chatur, MD
- Wilson Grandin, MD, MEd, MPH
- Rachna Kataria, MD
- Michelle Kittelson, MD
- Andrew Lenneman, MD, MSCI
- Ken Margulies, MD
- Jane Wilcox, MD, MSc, FHFSA
HFSA will hold an in-person consensus conference, facilitated by a consultant, with the goal of reaching agreement on critical issues, challenges, and proposed solutions. The conference will be held April 26-27 in Atlanta, GA.
In preparation for the conference, stakeholder interviews are currently being conducted. Based on the interviews, themes will be determined, and those themes will be reviewed, discussed, and prioritized at the conference. Recommendations will be developed and forwarded to the HFSA Board of Directors.
An example of the process to be used at the conference is outlined below.
A Roadmap to Reinvigorating Training Pathways Focused on the Care of Patients With Heart Failure: Shifting From Failure to Function
Journal of Cardiac Failure, ISSN: 1071-9164, Vol: 0, Issue: 0
Publication Year: 2023
Role and Contribution of the General Heart Failure Cardiologist: Further Expansion of the Multidisciplinary Heart Failure Approach
Journal of Cardiac Failure, ISSN: 1071-9164, Vol: 28, Issue: 4, Page: 659-663
Publication Year 2022
The Intersection of Heart Failure and Critical Care: The Contemporary Cardiac Intensive Care Unit and the Opportunity for a Unique Training Pathway
Journal of Cardiac Failure, ISSN: 1071-9164, Vol: 27, Issue: 10, Page: 1152-1155
Publication Year 2021
HFSA hosted a Twitter Chat with members of the HFSA Board of Directors and the AHFTC Task Force in January 2023 to further the twitter discussion on the topic of AHFTC fellowships and training program. This was inspired by the outcomes from the 2021 AHFTC NRMP Match (57.1% of programs and 43% of positions went unfilled) and HFSA member interest in the challenges and opportunities facing the profession with these results.
Questions?
If you have questions or are interested in getting involved, contact Kris Fridgen at [email protected].