A young doctor originally from the Philippines, I became a US citizen in May of 2011 and I have now been working in cardiac ICU and cardio-thoracic units in America for more than 6 years. Perhaps my crowning achievement so far, however, of which I am very proud, is my publication (Date) in the Journal of the American Society of Hypertension: “Evening Dosing of Anti-Hypertensives to Reduce Cardiovascular Events: A Third Type of Evidence Based on Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis of Randomized Trials.” Now that I am published here in America, I hope to continue to do so in a variety of areas, all related to Cardiology, and distinguish myself in time as a very diligent researcher in our field. It is my sincere hope that my application to your distinguished fellowship program will be looked upon with favor due to both my clinical and research experience; as I feel very strongly that I have a lot to give to the field of Cardiology.

I am most of all a very hard worker who gives his profession his all. I adore working long hours, following instructions, and I excel as part of a team, as I am constantly of good cheer and always willing to go that extra mile. I simply adore performing procedures and I work well even in stressful situations. I now have extensive first-hand experience at running a highly efficient cardiac ICU. I know what lies ahead of me, there will be sleepless nights when I will get called for a critical patient who is deteriorating or urgently needs a procedure. I fully embrace my lifestyle, however, and even find joy in getting woke up at 2 am; perhaps partly because I am also still single and totally immersed in my work. The hospital is also my family. The single most important factor is that what I most enjoy in life is saving lives, giving patients another chance to spend more quality time with family.

I hope to be selected to your program on the basis of my long term goals, as I look forward to serving as an internist at an academic and teaching hospital and participate in the training of medical students and residents. After completing a General Cardiology Fellowship, I intend to pursue further training in the area of Critical Care Cardiology followed by Heart Failure & Transplant Cardiology, the areas that I plan to pursue as an investigator for the balance of my professional life. I also look forward in the future, as a long term goal, to getting involved with medical missions to my home country, the Philippines, giving lectures, getting involved in educational projects, giving something back to the land of my birth.

One of the great inspirations that has driven me forward in the area of cardiology and solidified my determination to excel in this specialty was the fact that my father became very ill with heart failure when I was only four months into my first residency training position. My father was found to have severe mitral regurgitation and non-ischemic cardiomyopathy requiring urgent mitral valve replacement. Although his mitral valve surgery went well he had failed to recover his heart function even months after valve surgery, thus going on to require an implantable cardioverter and defibrillator (ICD). Having a close family member who is chronically ill from heart disease has been a powerful, sustained motivating force in my career journey. Cardiology has become very personal for me and I think that is helping me to excel professionally.

Among the special contributions that I am privileged to be making these days in my hospital is serving as an active member of the CHF Readmission Committee. By making sure patients admitted with congestive heart failure have 1. their own meds prior to getting discharged, 2. an understanding of dietary restrictions particularly salt restriction 3. appropriate and timely out-patient follow-ups with their primary physicians and cardiologists and 4. are aware of warning signs of heart failure recurrence with the proper phone number to call if they do develop warning signs after they get discharged. Our committee has helped us to achieve readmission rates at our hospital that are well below the national average. I find all of this to be enormously exciting and it spurs me on to want to continue to do heart failure research. 

I am currently working with my mentor in the area of Coronary Flow Reserve (CFR) and Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR) on patients with discordant myocardial perfusion imaging studies and coronary angiographic findings. We hope to prove the role of microvascular dysfunction in patients with abnormal myocardial perfusion studies and functionally insignificant coronary artery stenoses (as evidenced by the presence of 50-70% stenoses in one of the epicardial coronary arteries or their major branches but normal FFR values). 

I seek balance in all things, indoor volleyball in the winter and lawn tennis in the summer, an occasional escape back to nature which I immensely enjoy photographing. Happy, successful, well-adjusted, I find life an absolute joyous experience that centers on the heart. It would be an honor for me to be accepted as a member of your team and I thank you for considering my application to your program.