Interventional Electrophysiology a.y. 2024/25

This Master Program has a duration of 12 months and involves a full-time commitment, with compulsory attendance at the sites where the theoretical-practical activities are carried out (Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele and San Raffaele Hospital).

• Learning activities involve a combination of theoretical-practical teaching, journal clubs and joint interventional meetings (for a total of 23 CFU); they will take place in presence according to a schedule that will be defined by the Director;
• Practical activities (for a total of 27 CFU) will take place in presence, according to a schedule that will be defined by the Director and tutors; it includes room activities, department activities and outpatient activities. To complete this Program, the drafting of a clinical-experimental thesis (for a total of 10 CFU) related to the topics and/or cases addressed during the Master's program is compolsury.

All the activities will take place in the Arrhythmology Department of San Raffaele Hospital – Auditorium Class and Electrophysiology Rooms (floor 0, sector Q).

The Study Plan includes a theoretical-practical teaching component, divided into several courses, and a clinical-application training part, which includes internship activities. The course ends with the presentation of a clinical-experimental thesis. You may find the detailed Study Plan at the end of this page.

During the first semester, participants will learn to autonomously interpret the intracavitary signals, and independently perform the electrophysiological procedures in the right sections (i.e. electrophysiological study, atrial flutter, right atrial tachycardia, reentrant tachycardia in the AV and atrioventricular node). They will actively participate in complex studies, discussing case reporting with one of the "supervising" physicians. Participants will also become familiar with the materials used and the intervention strategies. They will begin to learn the transseptal puncture technique. At least 60 procedures will be ensured for each student. Part of the interventional activity will also be the examination reporting and the definition of the subsequent therapeutic orientation, agreed with the electrophysiologist in charge and explained to the patient.

In the second semester, the completion of mapping procedures of complex arrhythmias with supervision of the final result is expected. These arrhythmias may be: atrial fibrillation or ventricular extrasystole. Candidates will complete the procedure by performing catheter ablation.

Furthermore, the Department of Arrhythmology organizes annually, in collaboration with other internationally renowned centers, Joint Interventional Meetings, including international congresses, educational and training courses lasting two/three days on a monthly basis, including lessons, debates , theoretical-practical sessions.

The Journal Club Meetings will instead be held bi-weekly, presenting the most recent scientific acquisitions of the literature on topics of current interest in electrophysiology. The organization will be entrusted to two senior members of staff. To foster the ability to work independently, the preparation of each topic is entrusted to a master student, with supervision of the selected material and lines of exposure by one of the two staff members.

Discussion of clinical cases and laboratory activities >>> The various cases to be treated on that day are discussed and illustrated. This allows you to clarify the specific therapeutic programs that you intend to implement. 8 hours a week for 40 weeks.

Staff meetings and competency meetings >>> Held every 2 weeks and last 1 hour. Topics include: presentation of new interventional techniques; presentation of new controlled clinical trials; review of cases of interest in the previous days or to be scheduled, re-evaluating or deciding on the individualized therapeutic approach. Once a month, one of these meetings is also open to nursing and technical staff for the discussion of complications that occurred in the previous month during the activity in rooms and the operating methods to avoid their recurrence and treat them more effectively. Departmental meetings >>> They are held monthly for 1 hour before the start of clinical activity and are organized on a rotational basis by the Interventional Cardiology, Clinical Cardiology, Cardiac Surgery, Arrhythmology Services. New diagnostic and therapeutic techniques are presented at the meetings, reviewing cases with an interdisciplinary approach, and proposing new diagnostic and therapeutic protocols for the revision of the guidelines.