Articles
ACC Resources: 101 to Starting a Cardiology Interest Group and Obtaining ACC Recognition
About the Author - Eleane Castano is a third-year medical student at Ponce School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO with a passion for Cardiology.
The idea of starting a student organization and stepping into a leadership role can seem overwhelming—especially when you’re already balancing Biochem, Anatomy, endless Sketchy videos, hours of Boards and Beyond lectures, and cramming for the next exam. But the ACC made the process so feasible I wish I would have done it sooner. Stick around for some fun ideas you can bring to life at your school!
If your school doesn’t have a Cardiology Interest Group (CIG) yet, I highly recommend taking the leap and aiming to earn the CIG ACC-recognition certificate! I’ll share some helpful links and PDFs from the ACC that I used, along with the order in which I completed the process. The ACC also provides guidance to help you connect with mentors, explore research opportunities, and access resources for organizing student workshops to enhance your knowledge and that of your colleagues.
Grab a group of interested classmates and sign up for a FREE membership to the ACC: https://www.acc.org/Membership/Join-Us
One key step is to find a faculty advisor at your school who is willing to be a point of contact. It can be a cardiologist affiliated with your school or any professor willing to help. Once you’ve found a faculty advisor, check with your school for school-specific requirements for starting an interest group. After checking school-specific requirements use the following link to go through some basic steps on starting a CIG no matter which school you go to: https://www.acc.org/-/media/Non-Clinical/Files-PDFs-Excel-MS-Word-etc/Membership/Sections-Councils/Med-Students/Cardiology-Interest-Groups/Starting-a-Cardiology-Interest-Group.pdf
Once you’ve gone through all the steps within the link, you should have seen an option to register your CIG with the ACC. Once your CIG is registered, the ACC will offer you an opportunity to obtain ACC recognition and requires the group to organize multiple student-oriented events per year and at least one community outreach event. These requirements are subject to change, so always check with your ACC Medical Student Community using the following link for resources:
https://www.acc.org/Membership/Sections-and-Councils/Medical-Students
As far as student-oriented activities, some ideas include:
- EKG workshop
- ECHO workshop
- Cardiac Physical Exam and/or Sim lab
- Cardiology/Internal Medicine speaker panel and Q&A
- Case Study discussion
- Journal Club- you can start your own or sign up for the ACC Journal club for medical students (for more information on the ACC journal club email: [email protected])
As far as community outreach events, some ideas include:
- Partnering with your local American Red Cross for a blood drive
- Partnering with a local YMCA for a health fair
- Holding your own health fair at your school taking BP, measuring glucose, providing cardiovascular educational materials etc.
- Joining a Heart Walk for American Heart Month near you
Starting a Cardiology Interest Group (CIG) may seem like a big task, but it’s an incredibly rewarding experience that will not only enhance your own medical education but also create lasting opportunities for your peers. I hope with this step-by-step guidance and the help from the ACC you find the process to be feasible and encouraging. If you have even the slightest interest in cardiology, take the leap—you won’t regret it! Your future self (and maybe even your future patients) will thank you!
Students from the Ponce School of Medicine participate in the Bayer YMCA Cardiovascular Health Fair.
