IHS Regulations
The International Heart School, hereinafter referred to as IHS, was established at the Ospedali Riuniti di Bergamo in 1993, thanks to its international reputation in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular pathologies. IHS is today an integral part of the L. Parenzan J.W. Kirklin ETS International Heart School Foundation.
IHS aims to promote the development and dissemination of advanced medical science and techniques in the field of cardiovascular pathologies, with particular attention to spreading medical excellence in non-industrialised countries.
Cardiothoracic surgery is a specialist branch that has made rapid and significant progress over the last 40 years. Today, this allows for the successful treatment of heart conditions that were considered untreatable or poorly manageable just a few decades ago. This evolution has equally affected all fields of cardiothoracic surgery, as well as branches that have developed alongside it, particularly cardiac anaesthesia, interventional cardiology, electrophysiology, and cardiovascular imaging. Today, the treatment of adult heart conditions, the branch of heart transplants and ventricular assist devices, and, not least, the treatment of congenital heart diseases represent the three major areas of cardiothoracic surgery.
Participation in the IHS aims to provide students with specific training over the course of a year, with particular regard to complex pathologies affecting adults (heart failure surgery, heart transplant, ventricular assist devices, ECMO, mitral valve and aortic valve surgery, thoracic aorta surgery, complex arrhythmias) and children (cyanotic and non-cyanotic congenital pathologies, transplant and ventricular assist devices, ECMO). Furthermore, the anaesthesiological and cardiological approach to the aforementioned pathologies will play a leading role.
The objectives of the IHS
- to train foreign doctors from emerging countries in the different sectors of cardiovascular disciplines (Cardiac Surgery, Cardiology, Anaesthesia and Intensive Care);
- to create a worldwide network of doctors actively contributing to the treatment and care of cardiovascular diseases in their home countries
- to improve the quality of healthcare for cardiovascular diseases, both qualitatively and quantitatively.
The following programme is used to pursue these training objectives
- Master of University Level II in “Cardiology and Techniques Applied to Cardiac Surgery”
The IHS Foundation offers the Second Level University Master's degree titled 'International Master of Cardiology and Techniques Applied to Cardiac Surgery' at the University of Bergamo and the University of Milan-Bicocca. www.unibg.it
The course focuses on the techniques used in Cardiology, Cardiac Surgery, and Cardiac Anaesthesia for the treatment and care of cardiovascular diseases in both adults and children. The course also promotes international cooperation, made possible by the spread of modern technologies, such as distance learning. The main objective is to provide high-level instruction and training to tackle complex cardiovascular cases and work with a team of sector experts. The master's degree includes an internship at the Hospital Institutions affiliated with the IHS.
Hospital Institutions authorise student access to the Cardiac Surgery operating theatre for the learning of advanced surgical techniques for the treatment of cardiovascular pathologies.
The hospital institutions also guarantee students the opportunity to observe echocardiographic procedures, cardiac catheterisation, and other types of clinical-instrumental diagnosis carried out on patients suffering from cardiovascular pathologies, as well as the possibility to follow post-operative patients admitted to intensive care.If admitted, attendance at the Master’s programme is compulsory. Upon certification of attendance of 75% or more of the programme’s teaching hours and successful completion of the required assessments, 60 university credits will be awarded, corresponding to a total of 1,500 hours of study.
- Final exam, thesis and assessment
At the end of the academic year, students will be required to undertake an examination to verify the skills they have acquired. During the examination, they will have to discuss a thesis. The discussion will take place in front of a specially convened Committee.
Titles Issued
- The University of Bergamo, in conjunction with the University of Milan-Bicocca, awards the Second-Level University Master's degree.
1. External relations
- IHS promotes the development of external relationships with Universities and Hospital Institutions through the signing of collaboration agreements and conventions.
- IHS formula agreements and collaboration reports, which represent a preliminary act not necessary for the subsequent conclusion of conventions. Institutionalised collaborations are signed by the President of the IHS Foundation and the Heads of the institutions involved (General Directors, University Rectors, Chair Directors).
Agreements already made with Universities:
- University of Milano-Bicocca
- University of Bergamo
2. International Relations
- IHS promotes the development of international relations through contact with the home countries of students who have attended IHS.
- Humanitarian missions are carried out by a specialised team consisting of cardiologists, surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses, and technicians who relocate to the site. Patients with heart conditions are examined, and those requiring surgery are identified in collaboration with local doctors.
- Candidates from a developing country holding a Master's Degree LM-31 in Medicine and Surgery (Ministerial Decree no. 270 of 2004) or equivalent, and one of the following Specialisation Diplomas: Cardiac Surgery, Cardiology, Anaesthesia and Resuscitation, will be admitted to the IHS, subject to the availability of places. Preferential requirement: certification of experience in the diagnosis and/or treatment of cardiovascular pathologies.
- The completion and submission of the application form must take place within the deadlines indicated year by year on the Foundation's website.
- There are two ways to participate in the IHS:
- Co-financing
- Funding provided by IHS
- The total duration of participation in the IHS is 9 months.
- The activities planned in the teaching plan will take place on a full-time daily basis at the educational facilities.
- At the end of the academic year, IHS has no obligation towards students regarding the continuation of their careers or stay in Italy. Any requests in this regard must be pre-emptively assessed by the IHS Technical-Scientific Committee.
The locations where teaching activities currently take place are:
- ASST Papa Giovanni XXIII - Piazza OMS 1- Bergamo
- Policlinico di Monza - Via Carlo Amati, 111 - Monza
- ASST Grande Ospedale Metropolitano Niguarda - Piazza dell’Ospedale Maggiore 3 - Milan
- Hesperia Hospital - Via Arquà 80/A - Modena
- Regina Margherita Children's Hospital - Piazza Polonia 94 - Turin
- Auxologico San Luca - Piazzale Brescia 20 - Milan
Each student will be assigned a tutor.
Tutoring aims to guide and assist students throughout the academic year, to make them actively involved in the learning process, to remove obstacles, and to ensure successful attendance of the IHS course, including through initiatives tailored to individual needs, aptitudes, and requirements.
Tutor's Responsibilities
- Contribute to guiding students on their training path;
- improve the quality of learning conditions;
- improve the qualitative and quantitative features of teaching performance;
- to stimulate the student's scientific output;
- to encourage the student to prepare their assigned thesis, which will be discussed at the end of the year.
- check the actual frequency and adherence to established programmes.
The organs of IHS are as follows:
- Board of Directors
- Scientific Director
- Scientific and Technical Committee
It is up to the Director:
- Coordinate and oversee the activities of the IHS;
- To convene and chair the Technical-Scientific Committee
The Technical-Scientific Committee is responsible for:
- evaluate admission and selection requests of students for IHS;
- assign a tutor to each student;
- To arrange student participation in internal and external workshops, conferences, conventions, meetings, etc.;
- evaluate student scientific output;
- assess, at the end of the training initiatives, the technical and practical skills acquired by the students;
- to take any disciplinary action against students.
During your stay, IHS provides:
- Scholarship to help cover living and accommodation expenses
- Payment quota relating to the II-level University Master's degree 'International Master of Cardiology and Techniques Applied to Cardiac Surgery'
NBTravel expenses to and from the country of origin, medical and personal insurance expenses, and expenses relating to the residence permit are borne by the student.
IHS reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to request, in some cases, co-funding from students or institutions from the country of origin, co-funding to which admission of the applicant to the school may be subject.
- The academic year for IHS students commences in January, unless otherwise decided by the IHS Technical-Scientific Committee or determined by the University of Bergamo.
- The student's theoretical and practical training activities must be completed in good time for the final examination to be held.
- The student's theoretical and practical training activities, taken as a whole, involve an hourly commitment that must cover the number of hours required by the University. .
- Suitable attendance time control systems are planned, as arranged by the IHS Directorate.
- The student carries out their theoretical-practical training activities in the operational units that are sites of the IHS and in those affiliated with it.
- The student's training activity is configured as educational training for the entire duration of the course and cannot encompass the totality of activities carried out by permanent staff.
- The assessment of students must encompass the acquisition of both theoretical knowledge and professional competencies.
- The student, while carrying out their care duties, must be assigned a permanent doctor belonging to the operational unit in which they are working, as a necessary safeguard for individuals and as an essential element for learning.
- Patient reception, outpatient specialist procedures and specialist consultations, while being an integral part of the student's training, must be considered as supplementary to the responsible consultant.
Taking into account the obligation for each student to arrange their own personal health insurance (Art. 9), IHS will take out third-party liability insurance, which the student will then have to reimburse to the school. Master's participants are also covered by the University of Bergamo's insurance.