News | Published: Friday, May 1, 2026 12:00 pm
At a time when cardiovascular medicine is evolving faster than ever, Doreen DeFaria Yeh, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School director, Massachusetts General Hospital Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship co-director, MGH Cardiovascular Disease and Pregnancy Program, outlined both the promise and the growing pressures of preparing tomorrow’s cardiology workforce at CV Transforum Spring'26.
The discussion centered on a fundamental tension: how to preserve the core clinical skills that have long defined cardiology while adapting training to a field now shaped by subspecialization, artificial intelligence (AI) and increasingly complex patient needs.
“For decades, we’ve relied on a fairly static training model,” DeFaria Yeh noted, pointing to the educational pathway that date back to 1995. Despite major advances in diagnostics, imaging and therapeutics, many fellowship requirements remain largely unchanged. Even the 2024 updates made only modest adjustments, such as slightly reducing time in the cardiac catheterization lab while increasing exposure to imaging.
Today’s fellows often enter training unsure of which path to pursue and face pressure to gain exposure across a growing list of subspecialties. Given that reality, DeFaria Yeh advocates for a more individualized approach. At the same time, she emphasized that foundational skills – particularly physical diagnosis and clinical reasoning – must remain the bedrock of care, even in an era of advanced diagnostics.
To bridge this gap, Massachusetts General Hospital has increasingly experimented with new educational models. These include simulation-based learning, multidisciplinary collaboration, and a shift away from traditional lecture-heavy formats toward more hands-on experiences. The goal is to better align with how current trainees learn while improving efficiency in both education and patient care.
One area where gaps remain particularly stark is women’s cardiovascular health. Despite rising maternal mortality rates linked to cardiovascular disease, speakers highlighted a lack of standardized training in this area. Exposure depends heavily on individual program directors and regional access to resources, leaving many fellows underprepared.
Efforts to address this gap include Cardio-Obstetrics Fundamentals for Fellows, an online training program designed to provide consistent, accessible education regardless of whether a trainee’s institution has an obstetrics department. The program aims to provide fundamental education in cardio-obstetrics (level I) to general cardiovascular fellows and maternal fetal medicine fellows, available at no cost to all program directors and trainees in both disciplines.
Beyond clinical skills, the session emphasized a broader redefinition of what it means to train a cardiologist in 2026. Increasingly, fellows must also develop leadership abilities, understand the business of medicine, and engage with the communities they serve.
The MedAxiom and Wharton Cardiovascular Business and Management Essentials program was highlighted as an example of how institutions can equip trainees with the tools to navigate complex health systems.
“Brilliant clinicians are coming out of fellowship, but many feel unprepared to lead,” DeFaria Yeh said. “Our responsibility is no longer just to train physicians – we’re training leaders and system architects.”
That shift, she argued, requires intentional investment in leadership development throughout fellowship, as well as stronger support for program directors tasked with implementing these changes.
AI is also increasingly shaping both cardiovascular care and training, with fellows now expected to understand how to use AI tools in areas like imaging, risk prediction and workflow support. DeFaria Yeh emphasized that AI should enhance – not replace – clinical judgment, reinforcing the need for strong foundational skills in diagnosis and reasoning. As a result, training programs are beginning to incorporate AI literacy so future cardiologists can critically evaluate and responsibly apply these technologies in practice.
As cardiology continues to evolve, the message from the session was clear: the next generation of training must be as dynamic and multifaceted as the field itself, balancing tradition with innovation while preparing physicians not just to practice medicine, but to shape its future.
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