Clinical Component

Navigating the Clinical Component

Immersed in High-Acuity Care

In this role, you will find yourself at the center of one of the nation’s busiest and most complex cardiovascular programs. Each day brings opportunities to manage patients requiring mechanical circulatory support, advanced hemodynamic monitoring, and multidisciplinary interventions. Roughly 70% of your ICU patients will be recovering from advanced cardiac surgery—including CABG, valve repairs, transplants, and device implantations—while another 20–25% will present with complex vascular conditions such as dissections and endovascular repairs.

A Diverse and Challenging Patient Population

Your patient base will include adults recovering from open-heart surgery, individuals supported by ECMO or VADs, and transplant recipients facing delicate recoveries. You’ll also care for patients with arrhythmias, heart failure, and congenital heart disease (accepted up to age 30 in the CV-ICU). Each case offers a chance to apply the full spectrum of critical care medicine—from ventilator management and CRRT to vasoactive therapy and invasive monitoring.

Collaborative, Supported Practice

You won’t be navigating these high-acuity cases alone. The ICU is staffed with residents, attendings, advanced practice providers, and subspecialty surgeons who round daily with intensivists. The culture is one of respect and teamwork—surgeons and intensivists lean on one another’s expertise, with no finger-pointing, only shared responsibility for excellent outcomes.

  • Patient Mix: ~70% cardiac surgery, ~30% cardiology and vascular surgery; 550+ cardiopulmonary bypass cases annually, with growth toward 750 per year
  • Advanced Therapies: ECMO (20–25 cases annually), LVAD, Bi-VAD, IABP, Impella, Tandem Heart, and continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT)
  • Teaching: Daily involvement with anesthesiology and surgery residents; mentoring in ICU procedures and perioperative management
  • Research Opportunities: Access to a robust academic infrastructure, including mentorship from prolific researchers and support for clinical studies if desired
  • Schedule: 14 twelve-hour shifts per month for critical care–only physicians, or blended ICU/OR schedule for those maintaining an operative practice
  • Culture: Collaborative team-based rounds with surgeons, intensivists, and APPs; emphasis on communication and shared decision-making

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