FCCI Teams Up with Orange Park Medical Center for Cardiology Fellowship Program

First Coast Cardiovascular Institute (FCCI) is a proud partner of Orange Park Medical Center (OPMC) in creating a cardiology fellowship program that trains the future generation of cardiologists.

The OPMC Cardiology fellowship program was established in 2018, and proudly just graduated its first class of fully trained cardiology fellows; Drs. Areen Al-Taie and Waqas Siddiqui. Both of these physicians went on to complete further training in interventional cardiology at the prestigious institutes of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and Massachusetts University-Baystate. Drs. Al-Taie and Siddiqui spent three years at OPMC and FCCI Fleming Island and Jacksonville campuses learning the latest innovations from our team of board-certified cardiologists.

Dr. Andrea DeNeen, cardiologist at FCCI and Program Director for the fellowship, talks about her experience with these two graduates, “These two fellows have had the opportunity to undergo training at a high-volume, high-acuity hospital that offers comprehensive cardiovascular and advanced cardiovascular services. I have really enjoyed watching them learn and grow over the past few years and I know they will go on to be great cardiologists.”

“Commitment to education is not new to the Institute. We have for over a decade participated in the training of nurses and nurse practitioners, and technologists. It is very heart-warming to see us make it full circle to now training the future cardiologists as well,” says Dr. Youssef  Al-Saghir, Co-Director of the fellowship program and cardiology division chief at OPMC. Dr. Al-Saghir’s leadership paved the way over the years for many major advances to cardiovascular care in Clay county. Our physicians work side-by-side with the fellows in the hospital and clinics to spread this knowledge and expertise.

“We are training the next generation of cardiologists that will be taking care of our families,” says Dr. Ibrahim Fahdi, Director of Cardiac Imaging, “we hope to inspire in the fellows the same passion and drive, that we here at FCCI strive towards every day.”