Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship (ACGME) - Fellows

There are 3 fellows each year with their own areas of interests and plans for the future. The program gives them a firm grounding in general cardiology, but also allows them the flexibility to focus on a specific sub-specialty, if desired.

Welcome to the Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KPNC) Cardiology Fellowship Program!

We appreciate your interest in our program and are thrilled to meet you. We are excited to share what makes our fellowship such a special place to train. Our program provides rigorous, world-class clinical training in a flexible and deeply collegial environment to help prepare you for a career in any area of cardiology. We are a unique program that prides itself on several core attributes: 1) the breadth and depth of training in all aspects of cardiovascular care; 2) the focus on and investment in each fellow’s personal and professional development; and 3) the strong camaraderie and collegiality among fellows and faculty.

Kaiser Permanente Northern California serves a population of nearly 5 million members. Patients requiring advanced cardiac care such are funneled primarily to our two primary cardiac hubs in San Francisco and Santa Clara. Our hospitals and longitudinal clinics are enriched with a diverse population of patients with a variety of cardiac diseases. Throughout our training, we gain exposure to a remarkably broad spectrum of cardiovascular pathology across both inpatient and outpatient settings. We are well trained across the full spectrum of cardiovascular care and have substantial hands-on experience with procedures, including cardiac catheterization, device implantation and management, TEE, CT, MRI, and structural heart imaging and procedures. Additionally, we are directly involved in subspecialty care such as adult congenital heart disease, pulmonary hypertension, advanced heart failure/mechanical circulatory support, prevention and lipidology, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, cardiovascular genetics, and aortopathy. Importantly, our training extends beyond the inpatient setting. We develop and manage our own complex outpatient cardiology panels, learning to care for patients longitudinally and independently while managing a wide range of cardiovascular conditions and risk factors. The breadth and depth of these experiences allow us to graduate feeling confident and well prepared to practice independently as general cardiologists while also providing an excellent foundation for further subspecialty training.

Professional development is a central focus of our fellowship. Under the leadership of our Program Director, Dr. Jonathan Zaroff, each fellow receives personalized support and mentorship guided towards their specific needs and interests. One of the greatest strengths of our program is the flexibility to tailor fellowship to your individual goals. For those inclined towards clinical or translational research, the Division of Research offers access to one of the largest research databases in the world, and our fellows are highly productive across many areas of scholarship. Additionally, we value other nonclinical interests, including medical education with our residents, quality improvement, and healthcare leadership. Whether your goal is to pursue subspecialty training, practice general cardiology, conduct research, teach, or develop expertise in another area, our faculty are invested in helping you build the career you envision.

Finally, the strong camaraderie among our fellow and attending groups is truly distinctive. Perhaps the most meaningful part of our fellowship experience is the people. Whether collaborating clinically in the hospital or enjoying social engagements like happy hours or park hangouts, fellows and attendings foster genuine collegiality and support. We are viewed not just as trainees, but as integral colleagues and friends. Our attendings are genuinely kind, approachable, and invested in our growth. They create an environment where it is easy to ask questions, seek help, and learn from both our successes and challenges. Just as importantly, our fellows genuinely support one another, and we have built friendships that extend well beyond the hospital. We pride ourselves on the diversity and inclusivity of our fellows and the cardiology department more broadly and recognize it as a strength that helps us better care for our diverse patient population.

Thank you for considering our program. In choosing to join us for this next phase of your career, you will no doubt receive exceptional preparation for a career as a world-class general cardiologist or a solid foundation for further sub-specialty training. Repeatedly, our fellows secure highly sought-after employment opportunities and positions in advanced training both locally and nationwide. We hope you will take the opportunity to speak with our fellows and faculty to hear firsthand about our experiences. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us or any of the fellows with questions—we would be happy to share more about our program, our training, and life as a fellow in San Francisco.

We look forward to meeting you!

Warmest regards,
Emily, Matthew, and Lochan