Cardio-oncology training: a look under the hood

As the complexity of cancer care has increased and the number of patients with cardiovascular complications has grown, medicine has attempted to meet the demand by producing cardio-oncologists who have trained in non-standardized, unaccredited fellowships or have received certification through online course work and clinical practice. Organizations, including the International Cardio-Oncology Society, American College of Cardiology, and European Society of Cardiology have endeavored to create training standards and certification pathways, but there remains, to date, no accredited cardio-oncology fellowship (by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education or international equivalent) nor certification/maintenance of certification standard (by the American Board of Internal Medicine or international equivalent) akin to other cardiology subspecialties. This article will review the history of cardio-oncology, the current training landscape, and offer a way forward to ensure cardio-oncologists, like auto mechanics, are trained, certified, and master technicians of their craft.