New training guidelines for pediatric cardiology fellowship programs were released March 13 by the ACC, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Heart Association and the Society of Pediatric Cardiology Training Program Directors.

In addition to now fulfilling the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education's new criteria for training programs, the revised training guidelines make updates to task forces and include recommendations for advanced training within sections. The new task force on pulmonary hypertension, advanced heart failure and transplantation joins the previously established task force chapters on general pediatric cardiology, noninvasive imaging, cardiac catheterization, electrophysiology, critical care, adult congenital heart disease, and research. The reports identify the core competencies required of all pediatric cardiology fellows to complete training.

The Society of Pediatric Echocardiography for the noninvasive imaging report, the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions for cardiac catheterization report, and the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Society for critical care report all endorsed the task force reports.

"The purpose of the new criteria is to make them more relevant and useful in this era of competency-based training and evaluation," said Robert D. Ross, MD, FACC, lead author of the document. "The hope is that this document will also help to improve quality within practices by ensuring that graduating fellows have the skills and knowledge required for this complex subspecialty."

Keywords: Accreditation, Adult, American Heart Association, Angiography, Cardiac Imaging Techniques, Cardiology, Child, Critical Care, Echocardiography, Education, Medical, Graduate, Electrophysiology, Fellowships and Scholarships, Heart Diseases, Heart Failure, Hypertension, Pulmonary, Intensive Care, Pediatrics

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