Logistical barriers to career development in academic cardiovascular multimodality imaging-challenges for future mentors.

Objectives: To define the practical logistics involved in the training, maintenance of technical proficiency, credentialing, and board certification for academic multimodality cardiovascular imaging specialists.

Background: Trends in cardiovascular imaging reflect a new paradigm emphasizing expertise in all four major modalities. In order to become a faculty member responsible for educating fellows-in-training, academic imagers face a daunting process with a shortage of senior mentors.

Methods: Detailed information describing fellowship training, the aggregate monthly volume of publications, credentialing, continuing medical education requirements, and board certification were obtained for each subspecialty area of cardiovascular medicine from various online sources.

Results: Compared with other subspecialty areas of cardiovascular medicine, multimodality imaging requires more reading (44% more pages of publications), more continuing medical education hours (300-467% more), and additional board certification (three boards instead of one or two).

Conclusions: Achieving competency in multimodality imaging is difficult and expensive in 2009, but still possible. To advance the career development of current academic faculty in this area, future emphasis should be on streamlining training, accreditation, and board certification requirements while focusing on research proving the value of integrated imaging in cardiovascular disease.