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Cardiology
Supervising
Committee
Specialist Advisory
Committee in Cardiology (SAC).
Definition
of Specialty
Cardiology is a branch
of internal medicine concerned with prevention, investigation, therapy
of and research into diseases involving the cardiovascular system.
General
Principles
- The aim of the program is to produce in a minimum of three years'
advanced training, competent physicians trained in clinical cardiology
who are capable of recognising a patient's essential problem and able
either to address that problem themselves or to direct the patient to
another appropriate person. Successful completion of this broad prescription
allows a diverse approach to the award of the FRACP and is not intended
to guarantee competence as an independent operator across the range
of specialised procedures such as transoesophageal echocardiography,
stress echocardiography, coronary angiography, coronary angioplasty,
diagnostic and therapeutic electrophysiology, implantation of permanent
pacemaker electrodes and generators and implantable defibrillators,
congenital heart disease in adults and children or medical aspects of
cardiac transplantation.
- At least two years' experience in clinical cardiovascular medicine
is required.
- At least one year of cardiology training should normally be undertaken
in Australia or New Zealand.
- Trainees are required to become conversant with all diagnostic procedures
available - with their strengths, limitations and appropriate application,
with the relevant literature and with research activities in the cardiovascular
field. They are not expected to become expert in all branches of cardiology
or in all invasive or non-invasive techniques.
- It is desirable that training be undertaken at more than one institution
to enable trainees to acquire a sufficient breadth of experience.
- At least six months should be in an institution which performs adult
cardiac surgery and PTCA in order to gain experience in indications
for these procedures, appropriate patient selection, familiarity with
these interventions and post intervention care including complications,
their diagnosis and management. This includes the place of post-operative
echocardiography.
- Knowledge of electrophysiology, radiofrequency ablation techniques
and their application must be obtained. This should ideally be in an
institution which uses these diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.
- If the trainee is not working primarily in an institution in which
adult cardiac surgery and electrophysiology and ablation are undertaken,
programs and reports must indicate, with supervisory endorsement, how
this experience has been gained.
- Advanced trainees transferring to the SAC in Cardiology, or those
with the FRACP wishing to undertake post FRACP training in cardiology,
will need at least two years of additional supervised and accredited
training in core cardiology and optional cardiology (defined below).
The amount of training additional to this will be determined by the
amount cross accredited from other disciplines.
- Approved training programs may be carried out in appropriate public
or private hospitals.
- Any training undertaken during the year in which trainees sit and
pass the examination will be regarded as elective (subject to the usual
conditions - see generic guidelines).
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