Understanding the cardiology training landscape in Asia-Pacific region

Considerable diversity in cardiology training and credentialing pathways exist within the Asia-Pacific. We aimed to map these variations and report similarities and disparities with a view to understanding needs in cardiology curricula development in the region.

A 42-item online questionnaire was distributed to credentialed cardiologists serving as representatives from various regions within the Asia-Pacific, allowing obtainment of region-specific data as of December 2023. Responses were derived from a total of 23 regions.

All regions required specialist qualification to practise cardiology. Overall, 69.6% have a single training pathway, while 21.7% and 8.7% have two or three pathways, respectively. Majority (91.3%) had structured cardiology training curricula with assigned supervisor and regular assessments. The majority (91.3%) required mandatory training in internal medicine prior to cardiology. The total training duration inclusive of medicine and cardiology varied across regions (range 3-8 years) with 26.1% lasting 5 years and 43.5% lasting 6 years. All programmes had mandatory clinical cardiology training; 82.6% had interventional cardiology, 73.9% had electrophysiology, 73.9% had cardiac imaging training. However, 47.8% of regions had no training in cardiac computerized tomography (CT) and 56.5% had no cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging. 73.9% required mandatory research for board certification. In addition, 95.1% had an exit exam at completion of training (local in 95% cases). Board certification was mandatory for general cardiology practise in 69.6% of regions. Separate subspeciality fellowships were mandatory in 73.9% of regions.

Significant regional variations in cardiology training and credentialing pathways exist, presenting opportunities to harmonize and improve training metrics regionally. Key message What is already known on the topic? Cardiology training within the Asia-Pacific region has considerable variation in terms of duration, curriculum, training, and exit requirements. What this study adds? This study outlines the similarities and differences of cardiology training between different countries within the Asia-Pacific region. How this study might affect research, practise or policy? Results from this study provide insights that may inform the development of harmonized and contextually appropriate cardiology curricula in the Asia-Pacific region. Establishing common standards for cardiology training could facilitate a more uniform and coherent curriculum across Asia, ensuring consistency in trainee competencies and clinical practise.