Postgraduate Cardiology 2023 - 1.500€ - 1.500€.

1.500,00€

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Presentation

 

The course is designed to enhance your skills and achieve excellence in the diagnosis and management of congenital heart disease (CHD) and in the morphological and functional evaluation of the fetal heart in general.

Through a comprehensive approach ranging from pathophysiology to detailed imaging, knowledge acquisition is achieved through intensive exposure to a large number of real cases representing all possible conditions and situations encountered in a fetal cardiology unit.

Therefore, the program offers the opportunity to learn from experts how to best perform advanced fetal echocardiography, while progressively increasing the understanding of all relevant coronary heart diseases and their most common variations. A major section is devoted to advanced evaluation and treatment of fetal cardiac arrhythmias.

Finally, you will become familiar with the possibilities of fetal therapy for CDH and acquire full advanced training in the evaluation of fetal cardiac function and assessment of cardiac adaptations in non-cardiac fetal anomalies.

With a strong focus on clinical decision making, master classes and a face-to-face period in Barcelona are designed to complement specific skills in performing high quality echocardiography and prognostic assessment, with cross-cutting skills in multidisciplinary interaction and parent counseling issues.

The interactive program provides ample opportunities to participate in open discussions through a forum, share your own cases with experts in the field and attend virtual master classes. Two face-to-face weeks in Barcelona will allow for close interaction with experts and hands-on sessions on new technologies.

This unique academic program, endorsed by the University of Barcelona, addresses the growing demand for subspecialists with in-depth knowledge in Fetal Cardiology.

Who is the target audience?

The course offers advanced training in fetal cardiology for fetal medicine specialists and obstetric ultrasound professionals with experience in fetal echocardiography who wish to improve their understanding and clinical skills in fetal cardiology.

Overall objective

To enable participants to perform detailed diagnosis and prenatal counseling of prenatal cardiac anomalies through a thorough understanding of fetal cardiac physiology.

Specific objectives

  •  To achieve optimal prenatal image acquisition for the assessment of fetal cardiac function and morphometry.
  •  Efficiently incorporate all related techniques, including 2D, M-mode, color and spectral Doppler, 4D-STIC, tissue Doppler, myocardial deformation techniques and magnetic resonance imaging, into fetal echocardiographic evaluation.
  •  To enable participants to receive detailed diagnosis and counseling on congenital heart disease and fetal arrhythmias.
  •  To enable participants to adequately assess fetal cardiac function in a specific clinical context.
  •  Recognize the indications, limitations and benefits of intrauterine cardiac therapy in a specific clinical context.
  •  Predict how the fetal heart adapts to an insult, and the consequent remodeling, dysfunction, and fetal heart failure.
  •  Empathetically address the emotional needs of parents facing a diagnosis of a cardiac anomaly during pregnancy.

 

Course details

Course structure, schedule and content

Teaching structure

The Postgraduate Course in Fetal Cardiology consists of 10 theoretical-practical modules that include the basics of prenatal cardiac imaging, advanced knowledge of congenital heart disease and arrhythmias, and an understanding of fetal cardiac function and therapy.

Theoretical modules and evaluation test

The online module includes theoretical classes based on clinical cases that are visualized in video on the virtual campus. These modules will have a determined duration and will be carried out sequentially. The theoretical evaluation will be done online, once the Masterclass session has been completed and any doubts that the students may have have have been resolved. The exam will be a multiple-choice test with questions that may include images and videos, with specific dates.

Masterclass

Masterclasses will be scheduled in streaming with tutors or directors of each module in Zoom format where students can ask their questions live online to the experts. They will be coordinated by a moderator who will facilitate their development. The session will be held before the end of the online exam period of each module to resolve any doubts that students may have.

Master classes will be scheduled in advance. The date and time will be announced on the Virtual Campus.

Practicum

The practical part of the postgraduate course is designed for the student to acquire the necessary skills to perform advanced echocardiography, including a complete morphometric and functional evaluation of the fetal heart. It requires a great deal of dedication on the part of the student.

All modules include a practical part that consists of obtaining and submitting a certain number of ultrasound images that must meet the criteria explained in the theoretical classes. Some modules also require the presentation of documented clinical cases with the corresponding images, obtained by the student at his/her place of work. In the final modules of the postgraduate course, participants will be asked to present 5 cases of congenital heart disease that they have diagnosed and managed in their respective workplaces.

Cases should be well documented iconographically. The diagnosis should be justified by showing the specific key points of the cardiac defect. In addition, the complementary tests performed and the summary of the prenatal advice recommended to the pregnant woman should also be explained.

The delivery schedule will be available on the Virtual Campus. If there is any change in the delivery deadlines for any reason, it will be announced on the Campus calendar.

The images will be evaluated and scored by the course tutors; the students will receive a personalized commentary that will allow them to detect possible failures in order to improve their clinical skills.

Forum

The postgraduate course includes an online forum that uses a Moodle platform to allow interaction between attendees and faculty. It will be available to students at the beginning of each module. It will be supervised by the scientific coordinator of the course who will ensure that the discussions are dynamic.

The student will have to solve clinical cases in different scenarios including making a differential diagnosis, establishing a study protocol and a follow-up plan for each case, taking into account the prognostic evaluation.

The highly experienced faculty will guide participants through cases of varying complexity. This novel and dynamic part of the course will provide the tools to perform a thorough and systematic evaluation of most congenital heart diseases from a practical management point of view.

On-site part

The face-to-face period consists of two consecutive weeks in Barcelona, from March 4 to 15, 2024. This period will include a visit to the Fetal Cardiology Unit of the Hospital Sant Joan de Déu at BCNatal (Center for Maternal-Fetal and Neonatal Medicine in Barcelona). The purpose of this part is to help improve echocardiographic technique, expand knowledge and facilitate interaction with mentors and team members. The two weeks will be held at the end of the course to consolidate knowledge and better understand the more advanced echocardiographic techniques.

  • "Meet the professor": sessions with professors that will allow discussion of the most relevant topics of each module, based on clinical cases.
  • Lectures by international faculty experts on topics of specific interest including the basis of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, aspects of right ventricular evaluation, electrocardiogram, genetics in CC, impact of CC on neurodevelopment, fetal-neonatal transition and fetal cardiac programming. This will allow students to interact with the postgraduate professors as well as experts from other universities.
  • Practical workshop: "hands-on" sessions with volunteer patients to perform fetal echocardiography with a small number of participants. These sessions will allow to learn tricks to correctly perform structural and functional echocardiography.
  • Workshops on 4D-STIC technology, myocardial deformation techniques and 3D printed heart models for a better understanding of particular cases of CHD.
  • Meet the mentor" sessions to discuss doubts and define the topic of the research project (first week in the middle of the course).
  • Defense of the research project allowing discussion with the other students of the course and the professors (second week at the end of the postgraduate course).

Research project

Postgraduate training includes the completion of a research paper that will be evaluated by the Academic Committee. It generally includes a critical review of the literature on a specific topic that may be complemented with original data from the student's institution.

The research work is done personally by the student, under the guidance and supervision of a mentor. The topic is chosen and planned during the first week on site and defended during the second week on site.

Pre-registration, Selection Criteria and Enrollment

The number of places is limited. To apply for a place, it is necessary to pre-register by filling out the form as soon as possible due to the limited number of places.

To consider before pre-registering

In order to certify the validity of studies carried out abroad, it is necessary to carry out specific procedures to verify the existence of both the institution issuing the certificate and the studies completed, as well as the degrees and grades obtained.

Attention: This procedure should only be carried out by those who have already been selected for the course and is necessary to obtain the diploma issued by the Institut de Formació Continua-IL3-Universitat de Barcelona. The documentation must be sent by courier before the start of the course. This text is for information purposes only. Selected students will be sent full information on this aspect.

DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED DEPENDING ON THE ORIGIN:

1) Students with university studies in Spain:
- Simple photocopy of the DNI/Passport.
- Photocopy of the official university degree in Medicine and Surgery.
- Responsible declaration of veracity of the documents completed and signed by you.

2) Students with university studies outside Spain:
- Option 1:
- Simple photocopy of the DNI/Passport.
- Simple photocopy of the homologation of the degree in Spain of the degree of Medicine and Surgery.
- Responsible declaration of veracity of the documents completed and signed by you.
- Option 2:
- Simple photocopy of the DNI/Passport.
- Simple photocopy of the official university degree.
- Simple photocopy of the academic record (Academic certification of the studies of Medicine and Surgery issued by the University where they were carried out and in which the official duration in academic years, of the study plan followed, the subjects taken and the hourly load or in credits of each one of them and qualifications (it is not the complete pensum of studies).
- Application for authorization of foreign degree (Rector's Application) completed and signed by you.
- Responsible declaration of veracity of the documents completed and signed by you.
If the documents are issued in a language other than Catalan, Spanish, English, Italian, French or Portuguese, they must be accompanied by a photocopy of the official translation into Catalan or Spanish.

❖ REQUIREMENTS FOR OFFICIAL TRANSLATIONS:
Official translations can be done:
- By a sworn translator/interpreter, duly authorized or registered in Spain.
- By any diplomatic representation or consult of the Spanish State abroad.
DOCUMENTS TO DOWNLOAD IN CASE YOU ARE SELECTED
- Rector's application Click to download
- Responsible declaration Click to download

These documents should be sent by courier before the start of the course to the following address:
Medicina Fetal Barcelona
Av. Diagonal 361, principal segunda
08037 - Barcelona, Spain

Response to pre-registration requests

The date for responding to the selected students will depend on the number of applications and the score obtained by the student in the selection process. When the maximum number of accepted candidates is reached, registration will be closed. Those selected will receive an email indicating that they have been accepted and with the necessary information to start the process. We recommend reading beforehand the information available on our website in the section "to take into account before pre-registering".

Those who are not accepted will receive an email indicating that their application has not been accepted.

Pre-registration requires a commitment to:

  • Perform the teaching activities required to pass the course within the established deadlines, including evaluations and submission of images and clinical cases for each module.

Please refrain from pre-registering if you are not sure that you can take the course, either because you cannot attend the classroom part of the course, or because you have to meet deadlines for the delivery of images, exams, payments, etc, of the course. It is important to read all the information very well before pre-registering.

Cancellations

In case of desertion to the course, the applicant will be required to submit a letter to the course coordinator, requesting the cancellation of his/her registration. There is no refund of the registration fee.

Certifications

To obtain the degree it is essential to pass each of the modules, both the theoretical part and the practical part of the presentation of images and the final work.

  •  A diploma will be issued by Medicina Materno Fetal Barcelona certifying the completion of a "Postgraduate course in fetal cardiography" and a certificate with the grades.
  •  The course is accredited by the University of Barcelona. Participants will also be awarded with a "Postgraduate degree* in fetal cardiography" with 32 ECTS credits (equivalent to 800 hours) and issued by the Institut de Formació Continuada (IL3) of the University of Barcelona.

Requirements for obtaining the certificate

To obtain the Certificate, the student must meet the following conditions:

  1.  Attendance at 80% of the classroom part.
  2.  Pass each module separately, both the online part and the practicum.
  3.  Participate in the forums.
  4.  Approve the final paper.

*What is a University degree?

The University of Barcelona's own degree courses are designed for the specialization and in-depth study of practicing professionals.

What is the difference between proprietary degrees and university degrees?

In accordance with section g) of Article 2 of Organic Law 6/2001, of December 21, 2001, on Universities, the State grants Spanish universities the autonomy to "issue official degrees that are valid throughout the national territory and their own diplomas and degrees". With this measure, the University is enabled to expand its official training offer by means of its own degrees. The official degrees require a series of procedures and evaluations by different public bodies such as the National Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation (ANECA) and are necessary to obtain a doctorate. The proper degrees are specialized teachings with different denominations (master's, postgraduate, expert, etc.) and do not require validation by institutions such as ANECA. They are designed to respond quickly to the needs posed by the labor market and society, so they are aimed at achieving objectives such as:-Providing specialized training with immediate professional projection.

-Updating the knowledge of professionals to promote training for professional practice.

-To establish a connection between academic activity and social reality (an objective endorsed by the frequent organization of degrees offered through agreements with public institutions and private companies).

What is the validity of a degree course outside Spain?
A course with its own degree has the same validity inside and outside Spain, since it is a curricular title of non-regulated studies approved by the university councils, and protected by the Organic Law of Universities, which accredits the continuous training of the student.

What is not a specific university degree?

  1.  It is not a preliminary stage for access to a doctoral program. In special circumstances, the degree could be used for these purposes in accordance with the legislation of each country, but this is not its main purpose. This postgraduate degree requires the completion of a research paper, with the main purpose of acquiring skills in the interpretation of research literature. In some individual cases, this work may be original research, and may even trigger a publication or the continuation of a research career after completion of the course. However, this is not the main objective of the Postgraduate Course in Fetal Cardiology, so it should not be considered formal training in research in maternal-fetal medicine.
  2.  This postgraduate course does not qualify for professional practice regardless of the local regulations of each country. For this reason, only specialists in Fetal Medicine and obstetric ultrasound professionals with experience in echocardiography can be accepted. In some specific countries, this type of activity could subsequently be used to accredit or obtain an additional national qualification in the field of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, but this will always depend on local regulations and is not an automatic feature of this degree at all.

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