Letter from the Director

Ra-id Abdulla, MD Director Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship

The Rush Center for Congenital and Structural Heart Diseases at Rush University provide fellowship training in general pediatric cardiology as well as in interventional pediatric cardiology. The training provided at The Rush Center for Congenital and Structural Heart Diseases is based upon a well designed curriculum, world-renowned specialists in pediatric cardiology and state of the art center housing advanced equipment and strong infrastructure. In addition, this program provides its trainees golden and unique opportunities through two prestigious venues: the Pediatric Interventional Cardiac Symposium (PICS) and Pediatric Cardiology, a world leading journal dedicated to this exciting field.

The Center is located at Rush University Medical Center, one of the largest hospitals in Illinois. Together with an exceptional adult cardiology and cardiovascular surgical services, the Center is able to provide comprehensive service to a very wide age spectrum. Our youngest patients are fetuses of fifteen weeks gestation seen by our pediatric cardiologists for management of congenital heart diseases as well as arrhythmias. This is done in conjunction with a leading perinatologist team in Chicago. The other extremes in age spectrum are our adult patients with congenital heart diseases. Care for these patients and training of our fellows is made possible through a close collaboration with adult cardiology and cardiovascular surgery specialists who are integral members of our Center. Children of all ages are cared for by a team of pediatric cardiologists, cardiac intensivists and other attending physicians such as infectious disease, pulmonary and genetics specialists.

In crafting a fellowship educational program, we sought to provide a balance of learning experiences. Clinical responsibilities, procedure performing, didactic lectures, research and other learning experiences are well designed and proportioned. Individual tailoring to each fellow's needs and ambitions are essential in realizing the ultimate training experience.

Perhaps the most outstanding aspect of our training program is the dedication and enjoyment clearly manifested in our teaching faculty, rendering fellows' experience meaningful, fulfilling, enjoyable and eventually rewarding.