HVI PA Fellowship

The Heart and Vascular Institute (HVI) offers a Physician Assistant (PA) fellowship program for new and recent graduate PAs seeking advanced training in cardiovascular medicine.

About

The Centra Heart and Vascular Institute (HVI) offers comprehensive cardiovascular care for patients across Central Virginia. The institute comprises 10 specialized centers and is part of the Centra Health network. Ranking in the top 1%, Centra Heart and Vascular Institute leads the way in treating acute MIs.

The Fellowship Program began in 2017 and has grown to a class size of 2 with 9 faculty members and 32 preceptors and lecturers. The faculty has been recognized with numerous awards, with the Program Director and Medical Director most recently receiving the Virginia Academy of Physician Assistants (VAPA) PA/Physician Partnership award in 2023. The program alums currently practice within the Centra HVI and in 7 different states across all subspecialty areas of cardiology. PA Fellows in the class of 2023 and 2024 published articles during their fellowship with a member of the class of 2024 recognized as the organization’s outstanding new provider. The program is an Association of Postgraduate PAs member program and an ARC-PA-accredited fellowship program.

PA Fellowship Overview

Program Duration: 9 months

Class Size: 2

Curriculum: This program includes both didactic instruction and hands-on clinical training. Time is spent in the inpatient and outpatient setting under the direction of Centra Heart & Vascular Institute Fellowship Faculty, which includes physicians, NPs, and PAs.

Clinical Experience: PA Fellows will develop a strong foundation in general cardiology but will also rotate through subspecialty areas to include electrophysiology, heart failure, valve, and structural cardiology, vascular medicine, the vein center, interventional cardiology, cardiac imaging, congenital cardiology, and cardiothoracic surgery. PA Fellows will also complete a community hospital rotation.

Didactic Instruction: Each rotation will have dedicated didactics to include assigned reading, lectures, and case presentations. Fellows will also participate in Grand Rounds, morbidity and mortality conference, research and scholarship as well as receive dedicated EKG instruction, documentation education, mentoring and professional development. During the Fellowship, each Fellow will also complete a practice improvement project.

Program Mission Statement

Our mission is to provide a quality cardiovascular educational experience to ensure the development of highly skilled healthcare providers who deliver personalized, comprehensive and compassionate heart and vascular care.

Accreditation

The ARC-PA has granted Accreditation-Clinical Postgraduate Program status to the Centra Heart & Vascular Institute Fellowship Program sponsored by Centra Heart & Vascular Institute.

Accreditation-Clinical Program is the status of accreditation granted when a new or currently accredited clinical postgraduate program is in compliance with the Standards for Clinical Postgraduate Programs. Accreditation-clinical postgraduate program remains in effect until the program closes or withdraws from the accreditation process or until accreditation is withdrawn for failure to comply with the Standards, ARC-PA requirements or procedures.

Accreditation-Clinical Postgraduate Program does not ensure any subsequent accreditation status. It is limited to no more than five years from matriculation of the first class.

The program's accreditation history can be viewed on the ARC-PA website at https://www.arc-pa.org/accreditation-history-centra-heart-and-vascular-institute-fellowship-programs-pg/

Program Goals

Prepare PAs for careers in cardiovascular medicine through didactic instruction and hands-on clinical experience.
Provide PAs with an educational experience that is tailored to meet their unique learning needs.
Prepare PAs to provide high value, high quality, patient-centric care.
Facilitate professional development and life-long learning.
Develop PAs with advanced training in cardiovascular medicine who will be more competitive in the job market as well as eligible for employment within HVI as positions are available.
Support the transition of new graduate PAs into clinical practice to improve employee satisfaction, engagement, and retention.

Directors

Program Director
Lori McVay, DMSc, PA-C, CPAAPA, DFAAPA
Email Program Director

Medical Director
Carl Moore, MD, FACC, FACP

PA Fellow Testimonial

The HVI General Cardiology PA Fellowship prepared me for practice as a PA in cardiology by granting me the opportunity to work with and learn from all subspecialties in the broad and continuously expanding field of cardiology. Among the very large albeit well-organized group, I learned from seasoned cardiologists working in noninvasive and heart failure, as well as structural/interventional and electrophysiology focuses. It was equally challenging and rewarding; after completing the vigorous training and education, I felt extremely well prepared for a career in cardiology. I would recommend the fellowship program to anyone committed to obtaining a unique experience and a high-level clinical education in cardiology with the best cardiology group in Virginia.

— Matthew Truitte, PA

Information for Applicants

Eligibility

Be a graduate or be on track to graduate successfully from an accredited PA program.
Passed the NCCPA certifying exam or be exam eligible and have passed the exam prior to the program start date.
Must be Virginia state licensure eligible at the time of interview and have obtained Virginia state licensure prior to the program start.
DEA at the time of program start.
Meet all criteria for privileging as set forth by Centra Medical Group, Lynchburg General Hospital, and all payors at the time of program start.

Applicants

CV
One-page personal statement demonstrating desire to work in cardiovascular medicine.
Letter of recommendation from a preceptor (cardiology preferred) and PA faculty member.
Recent professional photograph.
PA Graduate Transcripts

Application Process

Program applications are accepted starting February 15th and are due by April 15th. Applications must be submitted by email. All applications must be complete at the time of submission; partial applications are not accepted.
Selected candidates will be contacted by the Program Director by email to schedule an initial virtual interview.
Interviews will occur in May of each year.
Top ranking candidates will be offered an in-person interview.
Candidates will be notified of decisions by the Program Director no later than June 1st.