Clinical Experiences
University Health System (UHS) – University Hospital, in partnership with UT Health San Antonio, is the premier teaching hospital and level I trauma center for San Antonio and South Texas. UHS offers over 700 single-bed rooms and state-of-the-art medical care. During their training, General Cardiology fellows have the opportunity to rotate through the cardiac care unit, heart station, consult service, and catheterization laboratories. While rotating at UHS, fellows work closely with electrophysiologists, structural/peripheral interventionalists, and advanced heart failure and transplant specialists. Interventional fellows will primarily work in the brand new, state-of-the-art Advanced Diagnostic Center – Heart and Vascular Institute, which opened January 2021. The completion of the ADC-HVI furthers our mission to be the regional leader in cardiovascular care with it’s 5 Phillips Catheterization Labs – they are the newest Cath Labs in the region, boasting the latest imaging software, biplane, hybrid room, OCT/FFR/IVUS integration, coregistration, laser, CSI, RotaPro, IVL, IABP, Impella & ECMO (scroll down to see photos of the new ADC-HVI).
Audie L. Murphy Memorial VA Hospital – The Audie L. Murphy Memorial VA Hospital is a 517-bed hospital contiguous with University Hospital and the UT Health San Antonio campus. It serves 250,000 in 43 counties across south Texas. During their training, General Cardiology fellows have the opportunity to rotate through the cardiac care unit, heart station, consult service, and catheterization laboratories. The VA site also offers fellows the chance to maintain their own independent continuity clinic overseen by a cardiologist faculty member. Interventional Cardiology fellows will rotate in the VA catheterization laboratories every other month.
UT Medical Arts & Research Center (MARC) – The UT San Antonio Medical Arts Research Center (MARC) is one of the primary clinical sites of UT Health and is less than a mile from both the University Hospital and the VA Hospital. General Cardiology fellows rotate biweekly with faculty in non-invasive, invasive, electrophysiology, and advanced heart failure. The MARC also serves as a primary teaching site for nuclear cardiology. Fellows have the incredible opportunity to oversee stress testing from the morning delivery of radioisotope to the final interpretation of the study. With faculty on site, the fellow is able to troubleshoot and learn “shoulder-to-shoulder” with an expert reader. Interventional Cardiology fellows rotate in Interventional, TAVR, and Vascular Medicine Clinics at the MARC while on rotation at University Hospital (there is no clinic on months where the fellow is rotating at the VA). Trainees graduate well prepared not only for board examinations, but also for independent practice.
Methodist Hospital (Main) – This 811-bed hospital, located within the South Texas Medical Center, provides General Cardiology fellows with amazing opportunities to care for advanced heart failure and heart transplant patients. During the final two years of fellowship, trainees will help care for the sickest heart failure patients on ECMO, LVAD, and post-heart transplant. Trainees get to participate in both inpatient and outpatient care, work-up of transplant candidates, as well as follow-up care including CPET, cardiac catheterization, and endomyocardial biopsies.
