Updated 5/27/2026

Rationale and Scope 

Scholarly work and conference presentations are fundamental to the training and professional development of cardiology fellows. These responsibilities coexist with demanding clinical duties, which may contribute to increased stress and burnout. Providing structured, protected academic time supports fellows’ ability to prepare conferences, advance research projects, meet with mentors, and complete essential administrative tasks such as Epic inbox management. This protected time aligns with the fellowship’s mission to train future leaders in academic and clinical cardiology. 

Fellows are responsible for multiple academic presentations throughout the year, including: 

  • Wednesday Multidisciplinary Case Conferences (4 for F1s, 3 for F2s, 2 for F3s) 

  • One M&M presentation per CCU/CICU rotation (F2s and F3s) 

  • Transplant Selection Committee presentations during Card B, CCU, and CICU rotations 

  • Annual Fellow Research Conference presentations (F2s and F3s) 

  • Echo conference presentations during UWMC Echo rotations 

  • Weekly teaching case conferences at HMC 

  • Nuclear cardiology lectures (30 minutes per rotation) 

  • ACHD Surgical Conference presentations during ACHD Consult rotations 

Many fellows also pursue research and quality improvement initiatives outside of clinical hours. Protected academic time enhances fellows’ ability to meet these expectations and promotes improved wellbeing and scholarly productivity. 

Other UW training programs, including Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology, have established similar protected academic time. 

Frequency and Eligibility 

Each fellow receives four academic half days per year (approximately one per quarter), counted as two professional leave days. These half days should be taken on the same day as the fellow’s continuity clinic.

  • F1s: UW Echo I or HMC Echo 

  • F2s: UW Echo II or UW Nuclear Cardiology 

  • F3s: Optional; counts toward professional leave (also used for interviews) 

Expectations and Coordination 

  • Fellows must coordinate with co-fellows to maintain adequate clinical coverage.  

  • Do not leave the UW Echo lab without a fellow present (i.e., F1 and F2 should not be absent simultaneously). 

  • HMC faculty request that the consult or CCU fellow remain available whenever possible. 

  • In Nuclear Medicine, fellows must coordinate with Stan and the Nuclear Medicine resident to ensure stress test coverage. 

  • Planned academic half days should be communicated to supervising faculty at the start of the rotation. 

  • Fellows must self-report academic half days to the fellowship office and the chief fellows, indicating what the time will be used for (i.e., conference presentation preparation; poster presentation preparation). 

  • A follow-up survey will be distributed after implementation to evaluate effects on morale, workload balance, and scholarly productivity.