It is important for clinical cardiac electrophysiologists to become skilled in the diagnosis, management, and follow-up of the full spectrum of cardiac arrhythmias and electrophysiologically relevant cardiovascular disease processes. Cardiac electrophysiologists must be able to obtain an appropriate history, perform an appropriate physical examination, order appropriate diagnostic studies, initiate appropriate therapies, and provide appropriate follow-up for patients with symptoms, signs, or family history relevant to electrophysiologically relevant cardiovascular disease. Cardiac electrophysiologists must understand the unique diagnostic and treatment modalities available to patients with cardiac electrophysiologically relevant disease and appropriate use of these modalities.

The mission of the University of Southern California (USC) Electrophysiology Service is to educate fellows in the comprehensive assessment and management of patients with electrophysiologically relevant disease processes. The Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology Program (CCEP) is a multifaceted, multidisciplinary, and comprehensive program providing training in all areas of clinical cardiac electrophysiology including non-invasive diagnostic assessment, invasive diagnostic assessment, pharmacologic therapy, and invasive therapies including ablation, pacemaker and defibrillator placement, as well as comprehensive patient follow-up. The program also provides didactic educational and research opportunities providing fellows with a training milieu which provides depth and breadth in order to achieve excellence in cardiac electrophysiology management.

The unique strengths of this program include a multifaceted, multidimensional clinical experience with:

• Location on the USC Keck School of Medicine Campus,

• Clinical training in a University Hospital, County Hospital, and Children’s Hospital setting,

• Advanced cardiac imaging assessment of underlying cardiovascular electrophysiologic substrates using computed magnetic resonance imaging,

• A full array of electrophysiology assessment and treatment including 3-Dimensional anatomic mapping,

• A full array of available ablation techniques,

• Cardiac resynchronization device implant techniques and follow-up,

• Exposure to traditional surgical and robotic surgical approaches to ablation and device placement,

• A full time dedicated Arrhythmia Center, and

• Participation in multiple large clinical trials as well as institution specific research.

At all stages of the program, fellows will be trained to develop competency in:

• Patient Care
• Medical Knowledge
• Practice-Based Learning and Improvement
• Interpersonal and Communication Skills
• Professionalism
• A Systems Based Practive Approach

Specifically, fellows will be trained to:

1) Provide the best clinical care for patients with acute and chronic cardiovascular disease,

2) Acquire the personal skills and attitudes necessary to care for patients with potentially serious and life-threatening disease processes

3) Acquire the ability to critically think and integrate medical knowledge to a particular patient’s case, while maintaining the ability to individualize care to the particular patient’s situation,

4) Develop and foster an intellectual curiosity leading to research questions and a desire to carry the field of cardiovascular electrophysiology forward in the future.