Electrophysiology Fellowship Program

Fellows are physicians who have already completed certification allowing them to practice medicine as a registered doctor in their home country, and are seeking to further their knowledge in a specialized field through sponsorship from a training centre.  Often Fellows travel internationally to receive this instruction and experience.  An Electrophysiology Fellow (EP Fellow) is a medical doctor who is pursing further training in heart rhythm abnormalities.

FOR APPLICANTS:

As a part of the University of British Columbia Cardiac Electrophysiology Program, we are proud to offer training and experience to trainees through the Royal Jubilee Hospital, our affiliated office (Western Cardiology Associates), and our links with the University of BC and the University of Victoria.  Our physicians have trained EP Fellows from around the world since 1996.  Currently, our program EPs are Dr Richard Leather (Adult Heart Rhythm Specialist with the BC Inherited Arrhythmias Program), Dr Paul Novak (Director of the BC Electrophysiology program), Dr Markus Sikkel (head of Cardiac Research at the Royal Jubilee Hospital), and Dr Laurence Sterns (President of the Canadian Heart Rhythm Society).

The focus of this program is advanced cardiac procedures, including but not limited to electrophysiology studies and catheter procedures, pacemaker and ICD implantation (including biventricular devices), and complex patient management.  We take our trainees from the basics of electrophysiology (EP studies, SVT and flutter ablations, simple pacing) to state-of-the-art advanced EP.  Training on use of 3D mapping systems (including CARTO and EnSite Precision) for mapping of complex arrhythmias (including use of PENTARAY^TM NAV and Advisor™ HD Grid using Coherence and Ripple mapping for visualization) can be expected as part of our program.  Atrial fibrillation ablation with employment of both radiofrequency catheter tip and cryoballoon techniques will form a large part of a trainee’s experience; complex atrial flutter ablation, ischemic and non-ischemic VT ablation, as well as complex PVC ablation with ICE mapping will form more advanced components of this program.

Our doctors are at the forefront of cardiac pacing research and rapidly adopt new technologies and procedures, which are also performed at our site and are a key part of our EP Fellows’ training.  These include Micra transcatheter pacing systems, subcutaneous ICDs (S-ICD), and left bundle branch area pacing systems.  Venoplasty and snares are also employed for advanced CRT cases.  As part of our structural program, our EP trainees can expect also experience in LAA occlusion devices, which we perform jointly with interventional colleagues.  Approximately 850 catheter procedures, 350 ICD procedures, and 700 pacemaker procedures (including 200 cardiac resynchronization device implantations) are done each year by our EP group; guidance and instruction on device follow-up and programming is also provided to our trainees.

In addition, EP Fellows participate in clinical research, hospital clinical and educational rounds, provincial EP journal club sessions, cardiogenic clinics with Dr Richard Leather, and cardiology research conferences such as the Canadian Cardiovascular Conference, Heart Rhythm, and American Heart Association Scientific Sessions.  This is a 2-year intensive program.

Dr Paul Novak is the Director for the British Columbia Electrophysiology program.  For inquiries about opportunities and our program, please reach out to Dr Paul Novak through our Contact Us page.  It is recommended that applicants contact us a minimum of 18 months prior to their anticipated start date as the selection and application process is quite long.

We have been pleased to welcome Dr Ojas Mehta from Melbourne, Australia, 2022 and Dr Jovita Dwivedi from Belmont, Australia in 2023. We will be welcoming Dr Catherine O’Shea from Adelaide, Australia, a bit later in 2023 and Dr Liam Healy from Dublin, Ireland, and Dr Muhammad Asad from Islamabad, Pakistan, in 2024.

Minimum Requirements for EP Fellowship Application:

1. Detailed Curriculum Vitae (CV)
2. Minimum of 3 signed and dated letters of reference.
3. Medical degree.
4. Specialty Training certification in Cardiology (equivalent to the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons; examples include the Certification of Specialist Training or CCST in the UK, and American Board Certification in the USA).
5. Proficiency in English, as demonstrated through completion of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or through interview.