First of all, by "Cardiovascular Medicine", I assume you meant: - for adults (since pediatric cardiology is a subspecialty of pediatrics) - medical, not surgical (in which case you would want a residency in Cardiothoracic Surgery or Vascular Surgery) In North America, cardiology is a subspecialty under the specialty of internal medicine. This means you need to complete your internal medicine training (usually 3 years) before you can apply to get into cardiology. You should be able to find the curriculum of the internal medicine residency at the school you will be going to. In general, the first 3 years of an internal medicine residency are meant to prepare you to become an internist, and will include rotations in undifferentiated/general internal medicine (both in the inpatient and outpatient settings) as well as rotations through the different subspecialties (including cardiology, but also things like respirology, nephrology, gastroenterology, critical care, etc). Most people will spend a significant amount of time looking after medical inpatients, which can be a grueling and stressful experience. However, this is how you learn to manage complicated and (often high acuity) patients Throughout your residency, you'll also learn many important procedural skills, including intubation, defibrillation, central line placement, tapping/needling of various body compartments (pleural space, peritoneal space, pericardial sac, subarachnoid space, joint space, etc). It's good you are interested in cardiology, but keep your mind open -- other subspecialties may sweep you off your feet when you get to know them. Good luck with your training!