Long Beach, Calif. – Interventional cardiology's future success relies on a diverse workforce that will help to positively impact patient outcomes. Now in its second year, SCAI’s Ready to Launch program introduces the interventional cardiology field to a diverse group of medical students at all levels, providing hands-on experience and mentorship opportunities. The program is hosted annually during SCAI Scientific Sessions with participation from local medical schools. 

“This is an opportunity for local medical students to learn about interventional cardiology, get exposure to a diverse group of interventional cardiologists, and experience the breadth and variety of cases we treat in this field. We want this program to be as interactive as possible,” said Binita Shah, MD, MS, FSCAI, co-chair of SCAI’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee and Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of Research in Interventional Cardiology at NYU. “We want to show through these cases how we can make an impact on a patient’s life, not just in the immediate setting, but also in the long-term setting. It is critically important to have diversity in medicine when we’re treating a diversity of patients because our treatment of the patients does not end with just the procedure.” 

This year’s program at the 2024 SCAI Scientific Sessions in Long Beach, CA, begins with a panel discussion of how interventional cardiologists chose their careers and what they love about the field. The medical students are then taken through three patients’ journeys via case demonstrations in the coronary, peripheral, and structural realms. The students are then provided with hands-on experience with the many devices, tools, and techniques that are used in Interventional Cardiology. Finally, students have the opportunity to speak with interventional cardiology trainees to learn from those who are closer to their training setting.

“We want today’s medical students to understand what a wonderful field interventional cardiology truly is, to see how we impact patient care. One of the important goals of the program is not just to expose students to the field but also to increase the pipeline – we want them to have the opportunity to see and experience this specialty sooner rather than later. We also feel strongly about developing mentorship opportunities and connections that we know will persist longitudinally throughout their careers,” said Joaquin E. Cigarroa, MD, MSCAI, chair of the SCAI Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee and chief of cardiology at Oregon Health & Science University. “We hope that, in particular, women and underrepresented minorities will connect with interventional cardiology early enough in their medical careers to help foster an interest in the field later in their careers.” 

The following medical schools participated in this year’s program: 

• USC—Keck School of Medicine​ 
• UCLA—Geffen School of Medicine​ 
• Charles Drew University of Medicine & Science​ 
• UC Irvine School of Medicine​ 
• UC Riverside School of Medicine​ 
• Loma Linda University—School of Medicine 
• Kaiser Permanente Medical School  

Press Contacts: 

Gavin Stern 

[email protected], 202-644-8561 

Katy Frame 

[email protected], 610-613-3549