Jason Neil Katz, MD, FACC, is a critical care cardiologist and current member of ACC's Critical Care Cardiology Section Leadership Council. In addition to critical care, Katz focuses on heart failure (HF) and transplant cardiology. Kevin Buda, DO, interviewed Katz about his unique career path and what drove him to pursue dual training.

What sparked your interest in critical care cardiology?
I initially entered residency with an interest in critical care medicine. During my internal medicine residency at the University of Texas (UT) Southwestern and cardiology fellowship at Duke, I became enamored with the care of critically ill HF patients. The Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU) at Duke cemented my interest in HF, but it was not just the cardiac care that I enjoyed; I was fascinated by the treatment of respiratory, renal and hepatic problems that often come with severe cardiac dysfunction.

How did you make the leap from thinking about non-cardiac problems to pursuing formal critical care training?
During my cardiology fellowship, I started to think about whether pursuing a combination of HF and critical care training would be a good avenue for professional growth. Although there was not overwhelming national support for the idea, I was lucky enough to have several formative mentors. One close mentor of mine at UT Southwestern was a cardiologist who pursued further training in hematology due to their interest in atherothrombosis. One day I was rounding in the CICU at Duke with Robert M. Califf, MD, MACC – the current U.S. Food and Drug Administration commissioner – who asked why we were taking care of CICU patients the same way we had for the past several decades. Though it was a rhetorical question, it stuck with me.

The combination of my interest in critical care and cardiology, my mentors who pursued non-traditional career paths, and the growing knowledge that the CICU and cardiothoracic intensive care unit were critical areas for future research cemented my interest in the field.

How did you decide to continue to pursue critical care when others disagreed with your decision?
I was stubborn about it. Care in the CICU really had not changed over time and opportunity to research better ways to practice excited me. I needed some proof that the career path I was thinking of made sense to more people than just myself. During my cardiology fellowship, I cold-emailed program directors and chiefs of cardiology around the country asking if anyone else had similar interests. These emails led to some amazing connections. One was Joseph E. Parrillo, MD, FACC, a dual-trained cardiologist and critical care physician who provided early support for my career. I also had one impactful call with President of Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD, MACC, who thought I was onto something with the idea of dual training.  With the encouragement of several mentors, I published a perspective on cardiology and the critical care crisis in JACC in 2007. A little bit of encouragement went a long way.

Can you share any specific advice from mentors that helped shape your career?
The lessons I learned through seeing others practice medicine were the most impactful. During my residency, Clyde W. Yancy, MD, MACC, and Mark H. Drazner, MD, FACC, were HF and transplant cardiologists who I worked with in the CICU. They both had well-earned confidence that came from a vast knowledge base and were willing to take on the care of very sick patients. They went beyond patient care and showed me the joy of scientific inquiry. My first taste of scientific writing was with them. They also taught me the importance of finding passion in your professional life.

Can you share any specific failures you have had and what helped you get through them?
I have too many to count: research projects that went nowhere, jobs that fit well in some ways but not in others and times when I was not a perfect friend or family member. What gets me through difficulties has changed throughout my career.

I enjoy the multidisciplinary nature of critical care cardiology – every member of the team is needed. I also appreciate how humbling the field is. There are some days when I leave the hospital and feel like I am on top of the world, and others where I feel like I cannot do anything right. I try to emphasize to trainees that there are a lot of successes and failures. The latter are harder, but you will learn more from them. You must get comfortable with not always being right or perfect.

As my career has progressed, mentorship to trainees has become increasingly important – it is my favorite thing about being an academic cardiologist. I hope the time I have spent with trainees is helpful to them. It has certainly been helpful to me. Working with bright and enthusiastic learners reminds me of why I fell in love with cardiac critical care in the first place.