Cardiology and Thoracic Science Course Details - Fees, Subjects, Syllabus, Duration, Eligibility, Career Scope

What is Cardiology and Thoracic Science

A cardiologist is a physician who is specialized to treat diseases related to the heart like congenital heart problems, valvular heart, coronary artery disease, and electrophysiology. Cardiology and Thoracic Science is a part of medical science dealing with the treatment of diseases causing problems to one of the most essential and sensitive parts of the body, known as the thorax or the chest. The objective of Cardiology and Thoracic Science course is to provide health care to the patients requiring cardiothoracic treatments.

The main goal of the Cardiology and Thoracic Science course is to convey the basic knowledge related to anatomy and physiology regarding the cardiothoracic and vascular study, chest medicine, cardiology, imaging technology, and critical care management. Candidates pursuing Cardiology and Thoracic Science are taught the causes and principles concerning treatments and the use of drugs for reinstating the thorax.

Cardiology and Thoracic Science course is research-oriented and mainly based upon thoracic and cardiovascular organs. This includes treatment of valvular aneurysm, pulmonary and mediastinal tumor, ischemic as well as congenital heart diseases.

Course Highlights:

Eligibility Criteria (UG & PG) of Cardiology and Thoracic Science

• The Cardiology and Thoracic Science  Eligibility Criteria for Undergraduate, Postgraduate, and Diploma courses are different from each other.  For the undergraduate courses, eligibility criteria of Cardiology and Thoracic Science includes:

i. The 10+2 exam has been successfully cleared from any recognised board with Science as the main discipline.

ii.  Candidates should have Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and English as the main subjects of study while at 10+2 level.

iii. Successful completion of 12th boards school-leaving exam with a minimum aggregate of 50 percent marks.

The post-graduate-level course in Cardiology and Thoracic Science Eligibility includes:

i. Candidates need to secure an aggregate score of 55 percent from any college recognised by the Medical Council of India.

ii. Candidates can apply for M. Ch. in Cardiology and Thoracic Science after pursuing a master’s degree (MD/DNB/MS) or any other equivalent qualification.

iii. Candidates need to have a permanent registration with the State Medical Councils or the Medical Councils of India.

iv. Candidates need to have a minimum work experience of about 24 months with the General Surgery or the Cardio-Vascular Thoracic departments.

Cardiology and Thoracic Science Entrance Exam

For pursuing the Cardiology and Thoracic Science course at the undergraduate level, one can take direct admission in B. Sc in Cardiology and Thoracic Science, or one can pursue an MBBS for the same. Maximum institutes offering this course admit the students according to their performance in their 10+2 examination. However, some take their relevant entrance exams for Cardiology and Thoracic Science followed by a personal interview session.

To pursue an MBBS degree, one needs to clear NEET-UG and will get to choose the college according to the rank and counselling afterwards.

For pursuing the Cardiology and Thoracic Science course in postgraduate level, one needs to qualify any of the following Cardiology and Thoracic Science entrance exam:

1. NEET-PG

Cardiology and Thoracic Science Admission varies from one college to the other, but most colleges admit the students according to their performance in the 12th Board Exams.

Some other institutes take a relevant entrance examination which candidates need to qualify and then clear the round of personal interview.

For the postgraduate courses, Cardiology and Thoracic Science Admission is majorly based upon the rank secured in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test—Super Specialty. Candidates need to qualify this examination and secure as low a rank as possible. It is followed by a round of counselling sessions based on the percentage or percentile of marks obtained in the entrance test.

NEET-SS is a single-window examination conducted for all the Super Specialty DM/M.Ch pursuing courses as stated by the Indian Medical Council Act. No other examination is considered to be eligible for pursuing the course at the postgraduate level.

However, a few universities do not consider qualifying NEET-SS to pursue post-graduation in Cardiology and Thoracic Science. Some of them are mentioned as follows:

i.  AIIMS, New Delhi.

ii. JIPMER, Puducherry.

iii. Sree Chitra TIRUNAL IIMST, Trivandrum.

iv.  NIMHANS, Bengaluru.

v.  PGIMER, Chandigarh.

Required Skillset for Cardiology and Thoracic Science

The key skills required to pursue Cardiology and Thoracic Science include:

i.  Thorough knowledge of the Cardio-Vascular System:

Candidates need to have a basic understanding of the Cardio-Vascular system and how it works.

ii.  Communication skills:

Communication skills enable the students to have proper communication with colleagues. Thus it is essential to possess the same.

iii.  Accustomed to changing technologies:

Candidates should know what technologies are used for cardiography and its surgeries. The basic knowledge regarding instrumental machinery is required to interpret specialized tests.