In ways large and small, most days we all feel some effects from the brewing crisis in the cardiovascular workforce. In this month's cover story, we hear from members of the ACC Task Force on the CV Workforce and other College leaders on what it will take to navigate this crisis on all fronts, spanning our work in prevention, innovation, education and advocacy.

Making the most of the entire cardiovascular team, solving for health equity and building a diverse pipeline of clinicians will also be critical.

ACC Immediate Past President Edward T.A. Fry, MD, MACC, says it best: that solving for the myriad of workforce challenges is an "all-hands-on-deck" call to action. Fry, Task Force Chair Thomas M. Maddox, MD, MSc, FACC, and others all stress the ACC's commitment to leading on this issue, given its importance to our Mission, Vision and Values, and highlight the next iteration of the College's Strategic Plan and related initiatives as an important vehicle for continuing to drive change.

"These initiatives will have a significant impact on our cardiovascular workforce pipeline and the experiences that our cardiovascular teams have in delivering frontline care," says Maddox. "The timing is fortuitous!"

Also in this issue, we are launching our new Health Equity in Action section with an interview with Stephen Cook, MD, FACC, chair of ACC's LGBTQ+ Work Group. Learn about the successes of the group so far, including sessions and events at ACC.23/WCC, and hear about their continued plans to promote equity and inclusion in the cardiovascular workforce, which in turn will help improve the care and outcomes of patients in the LGBTQ+ community.

Also don't miss the Prioritizing Health section, which contains patient and clinician resources for working with the LGBTQ+ community, including a new CardioSmart infographic just in time for Pride Month. Like the workforce issue, health equity requires all of us to step up to the plate to identify challenges and implement solutions, with the end goal of transforming cardiovascular care for all!

In other features this month, hear from Soma Sen, MD, FACC, and Y. S. Chandrashekhar MD, FACC, JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging editor-in-chief, on how advanced imaging strategies could improve care and outcomes in patients with a dilated heart, a hypertrophied heart or arrhythmic heart.

In Heart of Health Policy, read about the growing trend in private equity investment in cardiology and how it's being perceived among cardiovascular clinicians.

Also get up to speed on what you need to know on the health policy front now that the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency has ended. On the membership front, hear from Daniel McBride, MD, on lessons learned from his general cardiology fellowship as he prepares for a fellowship in cardiac electrophysiology, and from Rija Khalid, a third-year medical student in Pakistan and member of ACC's Medical Students Section, about the importance of incorporating health care technology into the medical school curriculum to bring meaningful change in health care. These perspectives provide important insights as we all work to build the pipeline of cardiovascular clinicians, and we welcome more.

These are just a few of the highlights from this issue. We hope you enjoy!

As always, please send your thoughts and feedback to CardiologyEditor@acc.org and don't forget to share your thoughts and spark discussion among each other on social media using #CardiologyMag and tagging @ACCinTouch.

 

Peter C. Block
MD, FACC

John Gordon Harold
MD, MACC