Fellowships
A FUND THAT FOSTERS AND EDUCATES The Francis Fontan Fund for Education supports education for young surgeons, fosters professional development and strengthens the global cardiothoracic community. It does this by creating a network of expertise that shares clinical knowledge and learns from the highest standards of cardiothoracic care. The Fund supports several different Fellowships, with up to eight Fellows each, specialising in a wide range of cardiothoracic techniques. These Fellowships take place in centres all around the world, including Europe, the USA and China, and are open to applications from all countries. The Fellowships are: • Advanced Intensive Post-Operative Care • Aortic TEVAR • Aortic Root and Valve Repair • Atrial Fibrillation • EACTS-MSTCVS Quality and Outcomes • Off Pump Coronary Artery Bypass Fellowship (OPCAB) • Minimally Invasive Coronary Bypass Graft (MICS CABG)
• TSF/FFF International Travelling • Uniportal VATS Applications for the latest round of awards closed in November and are now being considered. One award that has just been announced is the Advanced Intensive Post-Operative Care Fellowship, which went to Gvido Janis Bergs from Latvia (see below). The Francis Fontan Fund Committee also has a fresh look, with several new faces, among them: Ruggero De Paulis – Chair Rafa Sádaba – Lead Surgeon for TSFFFF International Travelling Richard Prager – Lead Surgeon for MSTCVS Quality and Outcomes
The Fellowship programme is an important part of EACTS’ educational programme. I would urge people to apply. Ruggero De Paulis, Chair, Francis Fontan Fund Committee
What the Fellows say… Tell us about yourself, your specialty and where you are working now? “I’m a cardiac surgery resident in Pauls Stradins Clinical University Hospital, Riga, Latvia. In a country with a population of around two million people, there is only one adult cardiac surgery centre, where the whole spectrum and complexity of cardiac surgery cases are admitted and managed, around 1100 surgeries per year.”
Gvido Janis Bergs has just been awarded the EACTS Advanced Intensive PostOperative Care Fellowship for 2022
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At what stage was your career when you applied for the Francis Fontan Fellowship? “I submitted my application at the beginning of the fifth residency year, the last year of my training. It seemed a logic step to go abroad, acquire new skills and
find new perspectives on how to approach cardiac surgery cases differently. It is one of the most prestigious fellowships in cardiac surgery and no one from Latvia has ever received it, so it was a great challenge for me to apply and be the first.”
What prompted you to apply? “In my hospital, cardiac surgeons and cardiac intensive care doctors work closely in the postoperative management of patients. However, I think cardiac surgeons are more focused on surgery than postoperative management. I had this confidence inside me that I wanted to learn more advanced skills in postoperative management. When I read about the Advanced Intensive Postoperative Care Fellowship, the summary and experience of the previous
