Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship Training in Exercise Medicine: A General Needs Assessment

The aim of this study was to improve understanding of exercise medicine training needs for pediatric cardiology fellows. A survey was sent via email to all (N = 63) pediatric cardiology training program directors in the United States to evaluate the perceived exercise training needs of pediatric cardiology fellows. The survey consisted of multiple-choice responses as well as a few open-ended responses. A 60% response rate was achieved. 74% of programs did not have a pre-existing exercise core program. This type of training was felt to be important or very important in 84%. A wide variability of time allotted for exercise training exists amongst programs from < 1 week to > 4 weeks, with 2 weeks being most common. There was no consensus on a target number of total exercise tests nor types of tests in which fellows should participate. Preferred methods in training consisted of lectures and online media. Less preferred methods of teaching methods included dedicated reading of a handbook, a dedicated rotation, or live webinars. There was general support to develop exercise training competencies as well as the associated online learning materials with a focus on competency rather than target numbers. There is a need for educational recommendations for exercise training in pediatric cardiology fellowships as well as a unified method of achieving competencies.

Automated summary

In the United States, there is a widespread recognition of the need for exercise medicine training for pediatric cardiology fellows, although there is a lack of a unified training program. Most programs view exercise training as very important for fellows, but there is variability and lack of consensus in training duration, target test numbers, and types of tests to participate in.