EAPCI Focus on the EAPCI Fellowship Experience

EAPCI Focus on the EAPCI Fellowship Experience

An interview with Shady Elnaggar, EAPCI fellowship awardee 2014

Why did you choose this fellowship topic?

This is a very hot topic of great importance and personal interest for me. TAVI comes with a very high cost, but all expenses are covered in Germany which has the largest European experience in TAVI procedures performed. It was thus a fantastic opportunity.

Why did you choose the University of Duisburg-Essen as a training site?

The University of Duisburg-Essen is widely recognised with an excellent international reputation and is specialised in TAVI procedures, the SAPIEN valve, CTO operations, left atrial appendage and other technical procedures. Its profile fitted perfectly with my career aims. In addition, I was already familiar with German, having studied this language in Egypt. For all these reasons, I knew I could succeed.

What difficulties did you face during the fellowship?

Despite being familiar with the language, I did face some difficulties when I moved to Germany. The everyday interactions were sometimes hard for me to follow so I decided to take extra courses to properly learn the language while practicing it with my colleagues. Though it was difficult to combine language courses at the same time as finishing a cardiology fellowship, the German language was a necessary element in successfully completing my training as an interventionalist.

Do you have any advice for future applicants?

A perfect knowledge of the local language is important, playing a vital role in your communications with patients, colleagues and professors. Also, it is an essential part of being able to study. As the content is highly specialised, you need to be ready to study a lot and prepare yourself before beginning your fellowship in order to be able to operate and become acquainted with the people. Furthermore, I would strongly advise future applicants to network with locals to help them with issues such as accommodation, rent, etc.

To what extent do you believe that the EAPCI initiative will impact on your career?

The fellowship was a big boost for my professional career. For my fellowship, I came straight from Egypt to Germany and then moved directly to my current position. This was an excellent jump start for my career and a fantastic experience.

Shady Elnaggar, [email protected]

Current institute: Evangelisches Klinikum Niederrhein, Duisburg, Germany

Fellowship Institute: University of Duisburg-Essen, West German Heart Center (Germany)

Fellowship topic: Outcomes of Sapien-3 THV in comparison to Edwards SAPIEN-XT THV: Real-world single-centre experience.

Fellowship period: 01.11.2014-31.01.2016

Fellowship supervisor: Raimund Erbel

Fellowship grant support: Edwards Lifesciences