UNC Health Southeastern Introduces New Cardiovascular Diseases Fellowship Program
UNC Health Southeastern launched a new cardiovascular disease fellowship program earlier this week. Pictured from left, are Cardiology Fellows Drs. Rohit Masih and Alexander Irwin, and Program Director Cardiologist Dr. Hiten Patel.
UNC Health Southeastern’s Medical Education program is expanding to include fellowship training for doctors who have completed their residency. The first fellowship program for the health system is in cardiovascular diseases with two cardiology fellows arriving earlier this week to begin their specialized training at the medical center, as well as UNC Health Southeastern Heart and Vascular, and UNC Health Southeastern Cardiology and Cardiovascular Care. Cardiology fellows are physicians who have graduated from medical school and have completed a three-year residency in general internal medicine.
Cardiologist Hiten Patel, MD, is leading the new program. He has been affiliated with the health system since 2020.
“I always wanted to be an academic physician, and I think it's a moral obligation to pass on the medical knowledge to fellow colleagues,” said Dr. Patel. “ And ever since I joined UNC Health Southeastern, I realized there is a shortage of providers and a need to improve access to care for the local community. I wanted to start a new cardiovascular diseases fellowship program which will help in improving the overall quality of the cardiovascular care provided to our patients and the community.”
The program is expected to help to address the shortage of cardiology providers by training fellows to become future cardiologists, with the hope that some may remain, locally, to continue to provide care which would benefit the patients of Robeson County.
The administration at UNC Health Southeastern, the sponsoring institution, shared the same vision, supporting the application and, ultimately, program approval earlier this year.
"We are thrilled to implement a cardiology fellowship program in our community,” said UNC Health Southeastern Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Lori Dove. “This initiative will not only enhance specialized medical care but also empower future cardiologists with invaluable experience in a rural setting. Our commitment is to improve healthcare access and outcomes for every resident of Robeson County.”
The program involves training fellows for three years, where they will be taught and trained to develop the skills necessary to treat and manage a variety of cardiovascular diseases and incorporate scholarly activity into their evidence-based practice. Cardiology is a dynamic field and at the forefront of the cutting-edge technology and new innovations, so it is imperative that a provider stays updated with the new advances in treatment. The cardiovascular diseases fellowship program will prepare the fellows to learn the current standards of care required for them to pass the cardiology board certification exam, which will ultimately help to improve the overall quality of cardiovascular care.
The overall goal is to provide exceptional and the highest quality of care standards for the diverse Robeson County population in a safe and compassionate environment.
“We have formed a team which includes three willing and dedicated cardiologists, Drs. John Brooks, Chirstopher Walters and Xiuxian Zhu, who are serving as faculty members, along with me as a program director to train the fellows,” added Dr. Patel. “The response to the new cardiovascular diseases fellowship program at UNC Health Southeastern was very good; we received over 40 applications for a spot of two fellows to be trained every year. Our program has been approved for a total of six fellows, so by year 2027, we will have six fellows at a given point of time being trained in this institution.”
"It is truly an extraordinary time at UNC Health Southeastern as we begin the Adult Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship program,” said Cardiologist John Brooks, MD, who will officially join the health system in mid-July. “These physicians now embark on three additional years of structured clinical training and research, focused on the care of the human heart. This fellowship training program has the potential to be a tremendous blessing to all in Robeson and surrounding counties. I am genuinely excited to join UNC Health Southeastern Heart and Vascular to care for patients and participate in training the next generation of heart specialists."
On July 1, the health system welcomed the first two fellows, Drs. Rohit Masih and Alexander Irwin.
“In the future, we plan on applying for a one-year interventional cardiology fellowship program where the fellows can be trained for one more additional year to develop skills required for interventional procedures like coronary stenting to improve blood flow to the heart and relieve chest pain or treat a heart attack,” said Dr. Patel.
UNC Health Southeastern’s Medical Education program, led by Chief Medical Officer Joe Roberts, MD, has seen continued growth and sustainability for the program which was established in 2015. The overall medical education program boasts over 90 medical residents in the largest non-university-based residency program in North Carolina. The program includes emergency medicine, family medicine and internal medicine residencies. In addition to the cardiovascular disease fellowship, plans are underway to add programs in critical care, and sports medicine fellowships in the coming years.
