Insights from the thoracic surgery residents association early-career development series

摘要

Central MessageA well-developed plan, mentorship, good attitude, and hard work are the recurring themes for early-career success in cardiothoracic surgery.PerspectiveThe leap from cardiothoracic trainee to practicing surgeon is one of the most challenging in one's career. The Thoracic Surgery Resident Association identified several individuals who have demonstrated early-career success after this transition to learn their keys to success. We provide a concise summary of this information for all trainees preparing for this transition.The Thoracic Surgery Resident Association (TSRA) organized a webinar series entitled “Bridging the Gap: Tips for Early-Career Success in Cardiothoracic Surgery,” focused on strategies for early-career success in cardiothoracic surgery. Each of these 6 sessions was moderated by a TSRA Executive Committee member and featured early-career surgeons who have recently transitioned into practice and demonstrated success in integrating new techniques or clinical focus. Topics included robotic cardiac surgery, congenital surgery, atrial fibrillation surgery, thoracic surgery, transplant and heart failure, as well as structural heart.The TSRA Executive Committee, in a multistep process, selected the early-career surgeons for the webinar series. We first identified the 6 topics most important to trainees preparing to transition into practice. Next, we solicited nominations for junior faculty that, in the view of TSRA members, embodies successful transition to practice based on clinical volume, outcomes, and reputation. The TSRA Executive Committee then voted on individuals for each session, and they were invited to participate with a 100% invite acceptance rate.Robotic Cardiac SurgeryThe first episode in this series focused on robotic cardiac surgery and featured a discussion with Dr Gianluca Torregrossa, a clinical associate of surgery at the University of Chicago, and Dr Brittany Zwischenberger, an assistant professor of surgery at Duke University. During an excellent discussion moderated by Dr David Blitzer from Columbia University, there were several important points that were emphasized. First, and most importantly, Drs Torregrossa and Zwischenberger emphasized the need to develop extensive experience and confidence with traditional cardiac surgery before attempting to develop robotic experience or a robotic program. Dr Torregrossa specifically recommended working for several years with traditional surgery before pursuing robotic training. Dr Torregrossa described a series of 4 habits that are critical for robotic surgery. First, he recommended gaining experience with the robot in any surgical venue, be it cardiac or gynecologic surgery. Second, he recommended extensive experience with the robot simulator. Third, we were advised to record and review one's robotic cases to search for areas of improvement by oneself or with a mentor. Similarly, his fourth suggestion was to review videos of more-experienced robotic surgeons to discover areas for technical improvement.Once ready to begin a robotic program, Dr Torregrossa described a need for 2 key inputs. The first is mentorship; either within or outside of your institution, from someone who can help train you in robotic surgery and proctor your first cases. When searching for mentorship, Dr Torregrossa recommended searching for someone with diverse robotic experience and a known reputation as an educator. The second key input is support from your institution and department, as developing a successful robotic surgery program is dependent on consistent experience and buy-in from a team that includes nurses, anesthesiologists, partner surgeons, and hospital administrators. Looking to the future, Dr Torregrossa predicted an expanding role for robotic cardiac surgery, as patient preferences are steered toward identified a need for with robotic and clinical a trainee the from this episode the of a to after cardiothoracic to begin a robotic cardiac surgery in Card