The Dartmouth Health Postgraduate Fellowship Programs offer Advanced Practice Providers an intensive 12-month experience of advanced training. Your training will be comprised of didactic and clinical curriculums that will occur concomitantly.

Our Postgraduate Advanced Practice Provider Fellowships give you the opportunity to:

• Further refine critical thinking and highly marketable skills to a specialized patient population.
• Provide high-quality care to a wide variety of patients in the chosen specialty. 
• Be part of an organization dedicated to training the next generation of health care providers.
• Learn and work alongside colleagues in all areas of healthcare who are committed to team-based patient care.
• Access MD, APP, and other staff participating in world-class research, teaching, and leadership through Dartmouth College, TDI, the Value Institute and Geisel School of Medicine, Biomedical and Science Libraries, DHMC Patient Safety Training Center (PSTC), gross anatomy lab, POCUS Training.
• Earn a competitive annual stipend, full and comprehensive benefits, and continuing education credits are available at no cost by participating in and attending lectures, conferences, grand rounds, and journal club.
• Live in a diverse social, cultural, and artistic community in a Northern New England setting that offers a wide range of year-round outdoor recreational activities with easy access to major metropolitan areas.

The Cardiothoracic Surgical Postgraduate APP Residency program is an intensive 12-month training program focused on preparing you for a successful career in cardiothoracic surgery. Fellows will be integrated into the Advanced Practice Provider team and work alongside other APPs and Attendings.  

Clinical experiences will take place at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC), a quaternary care facility with air and ground transport services that care for Northern New England’s most critically ill patients. Upon completion of the program, you will be equipped with the following skills:

• Triage, evaluate treat, and manage cardiac and thoracic problems
• Work as an independent first-assist in the operating room
• Master techniques of conduit harvesting and preparation
• Knowledge and skills to treat patients with Coronary Artery Disease, Aortic Valve Disease, Mitral Valve Disease, Adult Congenital Heart Disease, Aortic Aneurysm, Lung and Esophageal Cancer, Thoracic Disease and Thoracic Trauma.

The goal of the program is to help you grow and develop the acute and long-range medical and critical thinking skills required to build a successful career in Cardiothoracic Surgery.

DHMC is located in the Upper Valley region of New Hampshire; a diverse social, cultural, and artistic community that offers a wide range of year-round outdoor recreational activities with easy access to major metropolitan areas. We look forward to learning about you and what you will bring to our program and our community!

Curriculum:

The mission of Postgraduate APP Residency and Fellowship Programs is to provide didactic and clinical curriculums to provide trainees with a solid foundation in the diagnosis and management of patients. The goal of the program is to help trainees grow and develop the surgical, medical, and critical thinking skills required to build successful careers in their chosen field.

The Dartmouth Health Postgraduate Residency/Fellowship Programs offer Advanced Practice Providers an intensive 12-month experience of advanced training. Your training will be comprised of didactic and clinical curriculums that will occur concomitantly.

The Advanced Practice Provider Residency in Cardiothoracic is a 12-month program focused on providing the novice APP with further education on caring for the Cardiothoracic surgical patient.

CT APP residents will have exposure to coronary bypass and associated conduit harvesting (open and endoscopic saphenous vein harvest), aortic, mitral, tricuspid valve procedures, ascending and descending aortic procedures, thoracic procedures including neoplastic and non-neoplastic, esophagectomy, thoracic robotic procedures, thoracic trauma, simulation laboratory sessions, central venous access/swan-ganz catheter placement, arterial line placement, chest tube placement, thoracentesis, intra-aortic balloon placement and removal, endotracheal intubation.

Website:

Additional details about the program, curriculum, schedule, and application process can be found at:

https://www.dartmouth-hitchcock.org/pa-residency/ctpa-curriculum

Accreditation Status:

Dartmouth Health offers two APP surgical fellowships in Otolaryngology and Cardiothoracic Surgery and three APP Postgraduate Fellowships in Critical Care, Neurology, and Palliative Medicine. These programs offer participants a rigorous 12-month training experience that will help launch their careers.

Our programs have been created in accordance with the published Accreditation Standards for Clinical Postgraduate Physician Assistant Programs by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) and Association of Postgraduate APRN Programs (APGAP), with anticipation of accreditation.

The ARC-PA has granted Accreditation-Clinical Postgraduate Program status to the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center Clinical Postgraduate Program for Cardiothoracic Surgery sponsored by Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. 

The program’s accreditation history can be viewed on the ARC-PA website at http://www.arc-pa.org/accreditation-history-dh-cardiothoracic-surg-resid-pg/

Admission Requirements:

To be considered for admittance to the Cardiothoracic Surgical Postgraduate APP Residency Program, candidates must meet the following requirements:

• Graduate of an accredited Master's Degree Physician Assistant Program or an Advanced Practice nursing program
• Must have an active national certification as a PA or NP
  • NP candidates must be registered as a Nurse First Assistant (RNFA) prior to the program start
• Must obtain a Physician Assistant or APRN license in the state of New Hampshire once admitted to the program
• Participate in a personal interview
• Complete the formal online application process, if asked to participate in a personal interview
• Participate in a criminal background check and urine drug screen as part of the pre-employment requirements for final selected candidates

Any offer of acceptance is contingent on final candidates successfully completing the standard DHMC pre-employment criminal background check and health screening and clinical credentialing process before matriculation. 

How to Apply:

Applications are due by February 16, 2025, at 11:59 pm EST

Applications for Postgraduate APP Residency/Fellowship Programs must include the following:

• A recent copy of your CV/resume (including school name and GPA)
• A brief personal statement describing your interest in pursuing a career in Cardiothoracic Surgery (500-1,000 words)
• Three letters of reference on letterhead
  • These can be submitted by you with your other application materials or directly by your references to ctpa.residency@hitchcock.org
  • Letters can be addressed to the Cardiothoracic team
  • If you are currently enrolled in a PA or NP program, one reference must be from your Program or Medical Director

Note: All materials must be received in order to be considered for an initial virtual interview.

The anticipated start date is Fall 2025 (the exact date will be coordinated with selected candidates based on your licensing and credentialing timeline).

Dartmouth Health is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, veteran status, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by law.