Assessment of the need for a cardiac morphology curriculum for paediatric cardiology fellows

Background: Expert knowledge of cardiac malformations is essential for paediatric cardiologists. Current cardiac morphology fellowship teaching format, content, and nomenclature are left up to the discretion of the individual fellowship programmes. We aimed to assess practices and barriers in morphology education, perceived effectiveness of current curricula, and preferences for a standardised fellow morphology curriculum.Methods: A web-based survey was developed de novo and administered anonymously via e-mail to all paediatric cardiology fellowship programme directors and associate directors in the United States of America; leaders were asked to forward the survey to fellows.Results: A total of 35 directors from 32 programmes (51%) and 66 fellows responded. Curriculum formats varied: 28 (88%) programmes utilised pathological specimens, 25 (78%) invited outside faculty, and 16 (50%) utilised external conferences. Director nomenclature preferences were split - 6 (19%) Andersonian, 8 (25%) Van Praaghian, and 18 (56%) mixed. Barriers to morphology education included time and inconsistent nomenclature. One-third of directors reported that <90% of recent fellow graduates had adequate abilities to apply segmental anatomy, identify associated cardiac lesions, or communicate complex CHD. More structured teaching, protected time, and specimens were suggestions to improve curricula. Almost 75% would likely adopt/utilise an online morphology curriculum.Conclusions: Cardiac morphology training varies in content and format among fellowships. Inconsistent nomenclature exists, and inadequate morphology knowledge is perceived to contribute to communication failures, both have potential patient safety implications. There is an educational need for a common, online cardiac morphology curriculum that could allow for fellow assessment of competency and contribute to more standardised communication in the field of paediatric cardiology.