Advanced Neonatal Cardiac Intensive Care & Hemodynamics Fellowship Research Clinical Training Curriculum Application Process Meet Our Faculty Contact Us Curriculum Advanced Neonatal Cardiac Intensive Care and Hemodynamics Fellowship Home Research Research: Clinical Departments Pediatrics: Home Pediatrics: Education & Training Pediatrics: Education & Training > Fellowship Programs Pediatrics: Education & Training > Fellowship Programs > Advanced Neonatal Cardiac Intensive Care and Hemodynamics Fellowship Pediatrics: Education & Training > Fellowship Programs > Advanced Neonatal Cardiac Intensive Care and Hemodynamics Fellowship > Curriculum Core Curriculum The Neonatal CVICU and Hemodynamics Fellowship is a 12-month program with a structured curriculum that builds core competencies through progressive skill development, immersive clinical practice and scholarly engagement across all seasons. Overview Core Competencies Concentration Step Description Skill Acquisition / Practice Concentration Step I Fundamental Knowledge Echocardiography / Hemodynamics Skill Acquisition / Practice Concentration Step II Echocardiography Skill Acquisition and Application Skill Acquisition / Practice Concentration Step III Fundamental Knowledge CVICU Skill Acquisition / Practice Concentration Step IV CVICU Clinical Skill Acquisition Scholarly Concentration Step IV Scholarship, Research, Presentation Skills, Leadership Snapshot: Fellowship Training Year Focus Area Training Activity Summer Fall Winter Spring Skill Acquisition (40%) NHRC Echo Reviews (Monthly) Yes Yes Yes Yes Skill Acquisition (40%) CHOC JPC Rounds (Wednesdays at 2 PM) Yes Yes Yes Yes Skill Acquisition (40%) Echo with Wyman Lai (1st & 3rd Fridays) Yes Yes Yes Yes Skill Acquisition (40%) Daily Image Review with Faculty Yes Yes Yes Yes Skill Acquisition (40%) Echo Lab Yes Yes No No Skill Acquisition (40%) CVICU Procedural Training No No Yes Yes Practice Concentration (50%) ECMO M&M, Performance Rounds, Cardiac Conference, ECMO Simulation Yes Yes Yes Yes Practice Concentration (50%) Hemodynamics Team Experience (Red 1) Yes Yes Yes Yes Practice Concentration (50%) Weekly CV and Hemodynamics Didactics Yes Yes Yes Yes Practice Concentration (50%) Red Team Journal Club and All Hands Yes Yes Yes Yes Practice Concentration (50%) CVICU Experience and ECMO Bedside (Red 2) Yes Yes Yes Yes Practice Concentration (50%) Cardiac Performance Rounds and ECMO Simulation Yes Yes Yes Yes Practice Concentration (50%) Cardiac Anesthesia Elective No No Yes Yes Scholarly Concentration (10%) Phase I: Project Development, Data Collection, PAS Submission Yes Yes No No Scholarly Concentration (10%) Phase II: Analysis, National Presentation, Final Work Product No No Yes Yes Clinical Rotations Clinical fellows rotate through two distinct service lines, each providing hands-on experience in neonatal cardiac intensive care: Neonatal Cardiovascular Intensive Care Service Based in the new, dedicated CVICU at CHOC, this team manages term infants with congenital heart disease during both pre-operative and post-operative periods. Hemodynamics-Focused Service This team cares for preterm neonates awaiting cardiac surgery and infants with structurally normal hearts who present with severe hemodynamic compromise. Sample Rotation Schedule Month Monthly Rotations and Training Activities July Echocardiography Lab August Neonatal Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CV) September Echocardiography Lab October Neonatal Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (Hemodynamics) November Echocardiography Lab December Research January Neonatal Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CV) February Cardiac Cath Lab/Cardiac Anesthesia Elective March Neonatal Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (Hemodynamics) April Research / Boards May Neonatal Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (CV) June Neonatal Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (Hemodynamics) Education and Training Our fellows participate in a variety of protected educational activities throughout the week, including lectures, conferences and team meetings designed to support clinical growth and academic development. Echocardiography Training Fellows receive dedicated training time in the echocardiography lab under the guidance of Wyman Lai, MD, a senior CHOC cardiologist and national leader in Targeted Neonatal Echocardiography (TNE). Lai has authored key textbooks in pediatric echocardiography and actively contributes to national standards in the field. Fellows are expected to complete 300–500 TNE scans during the academic year and will regularly meet with Lai and core faculty to review scans and explore how they inform clinical decisions. Research and Procedural Training The program offers fellows: Two months of dedicated research time Elective time to focus on procedural skill development, including: Percutaneous central line placement Dialysis catheter placement Arterial line placement Targeted Neonatal Echocardiography (TNE) Additional Educational Opportunities Fellows also benefit from a variety of supplemental educational activities throughout the year, including: Daily Echo/Physiology Reviews Neonatal Cardiac Intensive Care and Hemodynamics Journal Clubs 3-4x/year Twice Yearly ECMO Simulations Opportunities to present at Neonatal Hemodynamics Research Center lectures/case reviews Annual Neo Heart Meeting, the largest dedicated neonatal cardiac conference in the world Conference Schedule Our fellows participate in a number of scheduled weekly and monthly conferences through the cardiology, neonatology and pediatric intensive care units at CHOC. In addition to these conferences, we provide time for our fellows to engage in the monthly Iowa Echo Case Series and Neonatal Hemodynamics Research Center Lecture Series. These conferences are supported by a primary core of faculty who are actively engaged in teaching cardiorespiratory physiology and anatomy at the bedside.