Cardiology Electrophysiology

Department of Medicine and Medical Specialties

  • Course Information

    Course Number: RMDN604

    Prerequisites: Completion of the Phase 2 Internal Medicine and Surgery clerkships

    Length of Time: 2 weeks

    Phase Availability: Phase 2 and Phase 3

    Credit Type: Physician Assessed Patient Facing (PAPFE) or Open

    Call: No

  • Contact Information

    Program Director: Imdad Ahmed, MD, MBA, CPE, FACC, FHRS, FACP

    Coordinator/Scheduling: Allison King (aking75@uic.edu)

    Location: Mercyhealth Javon Bea Hospital – Rockford (8201 E. Riverside Blvd., Rockford, IL) Mercyhealth Javon Bea Hospital – Janesvile (1000 Mineral Point Ave., Janesville, WI)

Narrative Description: This course will offer Phase 2 and Phase 3 students an opportunity to work with the Electrophysiology subspecialty. The course will take place at the Mercy Health System in both Janesville, WI and Rockford, IL. The course will focus on developing a student’s understanding of different arrhythmias. Throughout this course, students will learn to differentiate and recognize common arrhythmias. Students will become more confident in learning how to record ECG, review telemetry, and see how common arrhythmias present on the ECG in day to day practice. Students will gain a basic understanding and experience common electrophysiological procedures including: electrical cardioversion, loop monitor, pacemaker, defibrillator implants, and various ablations. Additionally, students will gain a basic understanding of left atrial closure device, remote heart failure monitoring (CardioMEM), and evaluation of syncope and cardio neural ablation.

Throughout this course, students will participate in didactic sessions to learn foundational knowledge which will be applied throughout the course as they encounter patients in the Emergency Department, inpatient setting, and outpatient clinic. Students will also participate in procedures as needed for patient care and their own education. This is a two-week course which will be graded Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory and will meet the requirements for patient facing elective and open elective.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of this course the student will be able to:

  1. Recognize common arrhythmias by ECG, their presentation and basic management
  2. Differentiate life threatening arrhythmia from non-life threatening arrhythmia.
  3. Discuss the indication criteria for common electrophysiological procedures and complications.
  4. Perform and interpret a basic ECG
  5. Understand the indication of cardioversion, how to perform cardioversion, and the potential complications of this procedure.

Primary Learning Activities of this Elective:

  1. Bedside teaching
  2. Case discussion
  3. Assist/Scrub-in on procedures
  4. Computer simulations on arrhythmia mechanics
  5. Literature review of common guidelines in patient management

Method of Assessment: Students will be evaluated on their attendance and preparation for clinical setting and didactics, participation in didactic session discussion, approach to patient care and understanding of the content of the course. Students will be made aware of their course progress after the first week and told if they are at risk of failing to meet the above listed objectives. Any student who does not meet the above listed objectives will be made aware that they have not successfully passed this course and will receive a grade of unsatisfactory in this course.

Required Reading:

  • Review of materials from Internal Medicine Rotation and Phase l Block 4 on ECG
  • Specific Texts on: Physiology of Cardiac Muscle Depolarization & Anatomy of the heart

General Scheduling: Students will spend Monday-Wednesday at the Mercyhealth hospital in Janesville and Thursday-Friday at the Mercyhealth hospital in Rockford. Hours vary.

Additional Resources: None

Miscellaneous Information: None