In this episode of ACC's Practice Made Perfect podcast, Drs. Brenton Bauer and Laura Onderko explore practical strategies for getting started in advocacy, with a particular focus on Fellows in Training and Early Career cardiologists. They are joined by Dr. Samuel O. Jones, IV, a current member of the ACC Board of Trustees and former Chair of Health Affairs, who brings extensive experience and insight from years of active engagement in health policy and advocacy efforts.

The conversation also highlights key policy issues shaping cardiovascular practice today, including the evolving landscape of noncompete laws and ongoing physician payment challenges that underscore the need for meaningful payment reform. The episode concludes with a look at the future of telehealth and its policy implications, as well as the growing impact of prior authorization on clinical practice.

In this kickoff episode sponsored by the CV Management Section, we explore what truly makes a dyad partnership effective in cardiovascular care. Our guests break down how clinical and administrative leaders can align their goals to drive service line success, sharing real-world examples of high‑functioning dyad teams in cardiology. They also unpack common challenges in physician–administrator collaboration—and practical strategies to overcome them. Tune in for key insights on building trust, strengthening communication, and creating a shared decision‑making model that elevates leadership across the cardiovascular enterprise.

In this episode, Drs. Laura Onderko, Aditya Bharadwaj, and David Winchester explore the transition from fellowship to faculty. They share insights on launching your job search, leveraging mentors and sponsors, and tapping into your local American College of Cardiology (ACC) chapter for professional and community support. The conversation also covers the path to becoming a Fellow of the ACC (FACC), navigating contracts and negotiations, and ACC resources available to guide you through the process.

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Welcome to The Second Skillset podcast series! In this fourth episode, our panelists dive into how cardiologists can expand their impact beyond clinical care by engaging in organizational strategy, innovation, and advocacy. Discover how clinical leaders are shaping decisions at the system level, and how you can do the same. Through insightful discussion and real-world examples, you'll learn practical steps to grow your influence, contribute to mission-aligned initiatives, and stay connected to your clinical identity while taking on broader leadership roles.

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In this episode, Drs. Laura Onderko, Zain Asad, and Aditya Bharadwaj delve into how fellows-in-training and early-career cardiologists can strategically build their research careers and assess whether academic medicine is the right fit. The conversation highlights diverse pathways for engaging in research—from participating in clinical trials to securing grant funding—and explores the valuable resources offered by the American College of Cardiology to support aspiring physician-scientists.

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Welcome to The Second Skillset podcast series! In this third episode, our panelists discuss how leadership isn't limited to titles. In cardiovascular care, influence often begins at the bedside. The conversation explores how physicians can lead from where they are by cultivating trust, communicating with clarity, and driving change through collaboration. Listeners will learn practical strategies to expand their impact across teams, departments, and organizational levels, even when they're not "in charge."

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Welcome to The Second Skillset podcast series! In this second episode, our panelists discuss how to build the business fluency needed to engage in the strategic and financial decisions that shape your practice and service line. The conversation covers key financial concepts such as relative value units (RVUs), contribution margin, and value-based care models. Listeners will learn how to collaborate effectively with administrators using business cases and data-driven insights and apply a simple framework to propose and evaluate operational initiatives in their clinical setting.

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Welcome to The Second Skillset podcast series! In this first episode, our panelists explore why non-clinical competencies are no longer optional for cardiologists navigating today's evolving healthcare systems. The conversation highlights how the cardiologist's role is expanding beyond clinical care to include leadership and system-level influence. Listeners will gain insight into the core non-clinical skill domains: leadership, business, and communication. They will also learn how to assess their own strengths and gaps using a structured self-inventory tool.

Suggested Materials: (You can include formal references external to ACC.org here. Please list numerically as formal citations. Example: Cannon JA, Moffitt P, Perez-Moreno AC, et al. Cognitive impairment and heart failure: systematic review and meta-analysis. J Card Fail 2017;23:464-75).

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