The two-year, ACGME-accredited Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology Fellowship within the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine offers advanced hands-on training in heart rhythm disorder diagnosis and management. As a fellow, you’ll train across high-volume academic and VA medical centers, with close faculty mentorship and broad exposure to complex and emerging electrophysiology procedures.

Fellows are integral members of the electrophysiology care team. You’ll coordinate care across the health system, share decision making with patients and families, and gain exposure to clinical trials, including first-in-human studies. Ongoing assessment, regular feedback and board-focused education prepare you for independent practice and board certification in clinical cardiac electrophysiology.

Fellowship objectives

The Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology Fellowship covers the entire spectrum: procedural, consultative and research. You can tailor the two years to your interests in clinical care, research or education, with mentorship available for each track.

The fellowship includes advanced training in:

• Diagnostic and therapeutic electrophysiology studies
• Inpatient and outpatient management and consultation
• Placement and management of electrophysiology devices

Advanced training is also available in:

• Lead extraction
• Epicardial access and mapping
• Left atrial appendage closure

Our program participates in the ACGME Advancing Innovation in Residency Education (AIRE) pilot program, offering an integrated 2+2 training pathway. You'll complete two years of cardiovascular disease training followed by two years of electrophysiology training, with the third year serving as a hybrid year. 

Fellow intent is declared by the end of the first year of the Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship, and the Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology program director will work directly with you, the Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship program director and the division education manager to create the schedule for this pathway.

Fellowship curriculum

The Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology Fellowship provides comprehensive training in the diagnosis, management and procedural treatment of cardiac arrhythmias across inpatient, outpatient and consultative settings. You’ll gain progressive responsibility in the care of patients with arrhythmias and related conditions such as:

• Bradyarrhythmias
• Supraventricular tachycardia
• Atrial fibrillation and flutter
• Disorders associated with sudden cardiac death

You’ll also attain clinical experience in:

• Advanced management of pacemakers, implantable cardioverter defibrillators, cardiac resynchronization therapy devices and leadless systems
• Catheter ablation using radiofrequency, cryoablation (cryoballoon) and pulse field technologies
• Electroanatomic mapping
• Epicardial ventricular tachycardia ablation
• Left atrial appendage closure
• Periprocedural and longitudinal patient care

You’ll also gain experience on the inpatient electrophysiology consult service, performing device interrogations and interpreting electrocardiograms and ambulatory monitors, with optional participation in outpatient electrophysiology and device clinics.

The fellowship emphasizes medical knowledge, procedural skill development, systems-based practice, professionalism and effective communication. This is accomplished through hands-on clinical experience, structured didactics, multidisciplinary conferences and case-based learning. 

You’ll spend most of your time performing procedures in the electrophysiology laboratory under the guidance of an attending physician. You’ll also help run the electrophysiology service at OHSU and Portland VA Medical Center with several midlevel providers, all under the supervision of attending electrophysiology physicians.

As you work, you’ll be exposed to specialists in:

• General cardiology
• Heart failure
• Cardiogenetics
• Amyloidosis
• Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

All Knight Cardiovascular Institute fellows take part in regular multidisciplinary conferences, research conferences, didactic sessions and KCVI grand rounds.

Research

Scholarly activity is a core component of the Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology Fellowship. You’re expected to conduct clinical research, submit abstracts at national meetings and publish your findings in peer-reviewed journals. 

Over the years, our fellows have conducted a randomized clinical trial and large registry-based studies, presented at national meetings and contributed to several publications.

How to apply

Submit an application through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) and register with the NRMP Match. 

Your ERAS application should include the following supporting documents: 

• Personal statement
• Letter(s) of recommendation
• USMLE transcript
• COMLEX-USA transcript (if applicable)
• Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE or “dean’s letter”)
• Medical school transcript
• Photo

Eligibility requirements

To be eligible for the Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology Fellowship, you must be in the process of completing or have completed an ACGME-accredited three-year cardiovascular disease fellowship.

Important dates

The Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology Fellowship begins July 1. Applicants should follow the ERAS fellowship application timeline. Interviews are conducted in August and September.

• Merritt Raitt, M.D. (VA) 

Current fellows

Meet our current Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology fellows.