Cardiothoracic Surgery Fellow Available for Questions

[celling]

There's been a lot of questions on the Med School and Surgery Residency boards about Cardiothoracic Surgery.

Thought I'd see if the next generation of doctors had any questions about this amazing specialty.

Obviously, I'm still in fellowship, so I won't be able to answer specific questions about being an attending, but anything else is open for questions.

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[godawg300]

Can you talk about your decision to go into surgery vs medicine ? And how you knew you wanted to be a cardio thoracic surgeon. What was your step 1 score and did you do research?

 

[AlteredScale]

What made you choose this fellowship? Were you set on becoming a cardio thoracic surgeon in medical school?

Thank you for doing this!


Sent from my iPhone using SDN Mobile

 

[typoncho]

First, thanks for your time.
It is my understanding that CT surgeons have to go through general surgery residencies before being accepted to a CT fellowship. So:

Are you aware of any programs that put you on a more simple track to CT? (I am NOT discounting the importance of general surgery)
Can you elaborate on the relative competitiveness of your chosen career?

 

[celling]

Can you talk about your decision to go into surgery vs medicine ? And how you knew you wanted to be a cardio thoracic surgeon. What was your step 1 score and did you do research?

I worked as a scrub tech in the OR while I was doing my undergraduate degree. So, I migrated to the surgical side of things in med school. CT surgery was always something I thought was amazing. My 4th year med school rotation was awesome and my residents thought I was the best med student they ever had. During, my gen surg resdiency, my thoracic rotations were my favorite and my attendings definitely helped cement my decision.

step 1 score was 235/95. Didn't have that much research. Just had one paper published as a first author.

 

[karayaa]

What type of people make good CT surgeons? What do you need?
Was your research related to CT surgery?

Is there an overlap with interventional cardiology?

 

[celling]

First, thanks for your time.
It is my understanding that CT surgeons have to go through general surgery residencies before being accepted to a CT fellowship. So:

Are you aware of any programs that put you on a more simple track to CT? (I am NOT discounting the importance of general surgery)
Can you elaborate on the relative competitiveness of your chosen career?

That's correct. To get into a CT surgery fellowship you have to do a gen surg residency first.

There are many I-6 programs that you can go into CT surgery directly out of med school. Some that come to mind are: WashU, Mayo, Mass General, Brigham, Northwestern, Emory. More are being added each year. They are very competitive to get into. Usually there are about 100 applicants per slot.

As for fellowships, CT surgery currently isn't an extremely competitive fellowship, but is getting more competitive each year. This year, the match had a number of people who did not match for CT surgery. This is the first time in a while this has happened. However, to get into one of the top training programs is very competitive.

 

[BrCo]

Thank you for doing this! A couple questions.

1) How does training differ for individuals who want to do primarily general thoracic or non-cardiac. Would you say general thoracic can be more conducive to lifestyle?

2) Can you talk about the patient population for CT, such as motivation, demographics and overall perception.

3) Did you have any hesitation choosing an 8+ year residency? Are you married and how has your residency affected family, friends, finances etc.

4) What general advice would you give a rising med student interested in CT. Can you comment on the integrated CT programs. What are concrete differences between them and the traditional path?

5) Can you comment on the future of CT surgery. I've heard of people harboring fears due to encroachment by interventional cards, etc. what are your thoughts?

6) What other specialties did you consider? And what did CT have that the other specialties didn't.

Thanks!

 

[celling]

What type of people make good CT surgeons? What do you need?
Was your research related to CT surgery?

Is there an overlap with interventional cardiology?

People that are motivated and hard working make the best CT surgeons. You don't have to be a raging dingus like a lot of my coleagues think. The training is extremely tough and demanding. The best way to make it through it is to stay motivated. You also need very good hands. It's probably the most technically demanding specialty in medicine. However, you won't be able to find that out until you are later on in your training, so don't worry about it now.

My research in med school was not related to Ct surgery.

There are some minor overlaps with interventional cardiology in performing Thoracic Endovascular Aortic Repairs (TEVARs) and Transcutaneous Aortic Valve Interventions (TAVIs). Different facilities have different roles for the two specialites in these procedures, but boh are usually involved. Otherwise, the two specialties are distinctly different. They mostly do Cardiac Caths and stents. The Electrophysiology cardiologists do cryoablations, pacemakers, AICDs, etc. We do CABGs, valve replacements/repairs, CT transplants, Ventricular assist devices, Thoracic aortic surgery, Surgeries for lung pathologies, surgeries for esophageal pathologies, Thoracic trauma, etc.

 

[celling]

Thank you for doing this! A couple questions.

1) How does training differ for individuals who want to do primarily general thoracic or non-cardiac. Would you say general thoracic can be more conducive to lifestyle.

You still have to do a CT surgery training program if you want to do General Thoracic surgery. If you are doing a fellowship, after general surgery, you can choose a thoracic tract. This allows for more rotations in general thoracic surgery than in cardiac surgery.

General thoracic surgery has a lot better lifestyle than cardiac surgery.


2) Can you talk about the patient population for CT, such as motivation, demographics and overall perception.

I in general find our pt population to be extremely grateful for the care that we give them. They know that they are going to probably die if we don't fix them. However, the negative of this is that we do have one of the highest malpractice rates of any specialty (just under Ob/GYN, Neurosurgery, and plastic surgery).


3) Did you have any hesitation choosing an 8+ year residency? Are you married and how has your residency affected family, friends, etc.
No hesitation. If you know what you want to do then it shouldn't matter. I'd rather spend a couple extra years in training and get the job that I want.

I'm single, but recently got engaged. Residency is tough with family, no question. I see my family three times a year.


4) What general advice would you give a rising med student in order to match CT. Can you comment on the integrated CT programs. How competitive are they? How are they vs the traditional 5+2.
-study hard, get good grades, and do well on the USMLEs. Get to know that Surgery faculty and esp the CT surgeons. They can open doors for you.

-I-6 programs are very tough to get into. Much tougher than fellowships.


5) Can you comment on the future of CT surgery. I've heard of people harboring fears due to encroachment by interventional cards, etc. what are your thoughts?
-the future is looking bright. The last generation of CT surgeons are retiring and because not a lot of people have been going into the profession for the last 10 yrs, there is a predicted shortage of CT surgeons in the near future.

-I wouldn't worry about inteventional cardiology. They have been very aggressively trying to encroach on CT surgery for the last 1-2 decades. What we have found is that, there are certain pathologies that need CT surgery, and those don't seem to be going away for a while.


6) What other specialties did you consider? And what did CT have that the other specialties didn't.
-If I didn't get into CT surgery, I would have done Vascular surgery.

-CT surgery has a wide breath of pathologies (coronaries, valve, aortic, transplant/heart failure, arrythmia suregry, lung/esophageal cancer, etc) and thus a wide range of surgeries to perform. What drew me to it was also the anatomy, the physiology, the critical care management, the technical difficulty of the operations, the life and death that you experience daily. Most people are not cut out for it. It's extremely stressful. However, its also very gratifying.

Thank you!

 

[Cyberdyne 101]

(I copied and pasted this from the following site:
http://aats.org/mssr/CT-Surgery-Training-Pathways.cgi)

Currently, there are three RRC approved training pathways in Cardiothoracic Surgery, including: (1) Independent Programs (also known as Traditional Pathway, 5 years of general surgery, plus 2-3 years cardiothoracic surgery residency); 2) Joint Thoracic/General Surgery Track (also known as Fast-track Pathway — 4 years of general surgery, plus 3 years cardiothoracic surgery residency); all completed at one institution; 3) Integrated Pathway (6 years cardiothoracic surgery residency). The application process, curriculum, and board certifications involved in each of these pathways vary dramatically.

Traditional Training Pathway (5 years General Surgery, 2-3 years Cardiothoracic Surgery)

Medical students apply to and complete a general surgery residency program (5 clinical years), consisting of clinical rotations through the various surgical disciplines. Many academic-based training programs either encourage or require one or two years of academic research (6-7 years general surgery training). During the fourth general surgery clinical training year, residents apply for a residency position in cardiothoracic surgery. Clinical training in cardiothoracic surgery varies between 2 and 3 years in length. Following successful completion of training, residents are able to apply for certification by both the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Thoracic Surgery. Additional experience, if desired, can be obtained in a number of different fellowship opportunities, including heart failure/transplantation, thoracic aortic surgery, congenital heart surgery, or thoracic surgery. The ACGME website provides a listing of independent thoracic surgery residency programs.

Fast-track Pathway (4 years of General Surgery, 3 years Cardiothoracic Surgery)

Medical students apply to one of the participating general surgery residency programs that offer a fast-track pathway. Residents interested in fast-track programs generally apply after their second year of general surgery residency, although at many institutions the application process is informal, involving discussions between the general surgery and cardiothoracic surgery program directors. For a given institution’s fast-track program, only general surgery residents at that same institution are eligible. Residents who complete this track are eligible for board certification by both the American Board of Surgery (after General Surgery Training) and the American Board of Thoracic Surgery. Residents continue to have exposure to the different fields of surgery before deciding on cardiothoracic surgery (and conversely programs can assess residents’ performance in general surgery) and residents maintain the experience of the general surgery chief resident year. A current list of approved programs can always be found in the latest edition of the Thoracic Surgery RRC newsletter at http://www.acgme.org/acWebsite/RRC_460_News/460n_Index.asp.

As of October 1, 2009 the current list of approved institutions with a Joint Thoracic/General Surgery Track is:
Brigham & Women’s Hospital/Children’s Hospital
Duke University
Massachusetts General Hospital
Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education (Rochester)
New York University School of Medicine
University of Maryland
University of Rochester
University of Virginia
University of Washington
Washington University School of Medicine
Additional information about this pathway can be found at: http://www.acgme.org/acWebsite/RRC_sharedDocs/sh_jointSurgThorSurg.pdf.

Integrated Pathway (6 years Cardiothoracic Surgery)

Medical students apply directly to an integrated cardiothoracic surgery residency program, similar to standard applications for other residency programs. Integrated programs allow both more focused cardiothoracic training, as well as training in fields allied with cardiothoracic surgery that are important to an interdisciplinary approach to cardiovascular and thoracic disease. More specifically, the overarching objective of this training program is to provide a more comprehensive and rational total immersion in the diagnosis and management of all aspects of cardiovascular and thoracic diseases through multi-disciplinary training, including rotations in interventional radiology, interventional cardiology, endovascular surgery, oncology, and pulmonary disease. Integrated programs also allow for more training in new technologies such as robotics and minimally invasive approaches. Upon completion of an integrated residency, residents are eligible to sit for American Board of Thoracic Surgery certification, but not for the American Board of Surgery certification. The ACGME website provides a listing of independent thoracic surgery residency programs under the category “Thoracic Surgery-Integrated.”

As of May, 2010 the current list of approved programs is:
Medical College of Wisconsin Affiliated Hospitals Program
Medical University of South Carolina
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Stanford University
University of Maryland
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of Pennsylvania
University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
University of Washington

 

[The Buff OP]

So... is this thread going to be active by OP? I think I want to ask some questions since I'm really interested in CT; however, surgeon AMA threads are notorious for going inactive (except for neusu) since they forget about it or their schedules are too busy.

 

[celling]

Still active. What's your question?

 

[Cyberdyne 101]

Thanks for doing this!
How long are the more typical surgeries that a CT surgeon performs? 4 hrs? 7 hrs?
And do you guys work roughly the same hours as neurosurgeons?

 

[celling]

Thanks for doing this!
How long are the more typical surgeries that a CT surgeon performs? 4 hrs? 7 hrs?
And do you guys work roughly the same hours as neurosurgeons?

Depends on the speed of the surgeon and the complexity of the procedure. I think that 5 to 6 hrs is the average.

We work roughly the same hours as neurosurgeons. The surgeries usually last longer than neurosurgeons. Both are tough but rewarding professions.

 

[Cyberdyne 101]

Depends on the speed of the surgeon and the complexity of the procedure. I think that 5 to 6 hrs is the average.

We work roughly the same hours as neurosurgeons. The surgeries usually last longer than neurosurgeons. Both are tough but rewarding professions.

So I'm guessing it's ~2 of these procedures a day (on operating days). And is it typically 3 days a week in the OR?
Thanks again!

 

[celling]

So I'm guessing it's ~2 of these procedures a day (on operating days). And is it typically 3 days a week in the OR?
Thanks again!

Again it depends on the speed of the surgeon. I know a particular surgeon that does 5-6 surgeries in a day. However the average is 1-2 surgeries in a standard day.

 

[The Buff OP]

Still active. What's your question?

Cool. I hope you did not take my post offensive (I doubt you did) @Buzz Me did a thread once and he went MIA.

As a guy who is nontrad and knows he will probably graduate medical school in his early 30s, would you recommend a CT integrated program (that is if I end up picking that specialty)?

What's the best pathway to become a cardiac surgeon? General surgery residency, then CT fellowship (2 board certifications) or integrated program?

 

[bear2roo]

Hi I'm not sure if you answered this (I don't think you did? I might've missed it) but I keep reading & hearing about CT Surgery's job market going down--how do you feel about this? Do you think in 5 years or more the market might swing another direction in favor of CT surgery again somehow?

Do you think CT Surgeons get compensated fairly for the amount of work a CT Surgeon does? Like money, lifestyle, enjoying the career, etc

Thanks!

 

[The Buff OP]

 

[Mr Interesting]

So... is this thread going to be active by OP? I think I want to ask some questions since I'm really interested in CT; however, surgeon AMA threads are notorious for going inactive (except for neusu) since they forget about it or their schedules are too busy.

Still active. What's your question?

Lol.

 

[Mr Interesting]

(I copied and pasted this from the following site:
http://aats.org/mssr/CT-Surgery-Training-Pathways.cgi)

Currently, there are three RRC approved training pathways in Cardiothoracic Surgery, including: (1) Independent Programs (also known as Traditional Pathway, 5 years of general surgery, plus 2-3 years cardiothoracic surgery residency); 2) Joint Thoracic/General Surgery Track (also known as Fast-track Pathway — 4 years of general surgery, plus 3 years cardiothoracic surgery residency); all completed at one institution; 3) Integrated Pathway (6 years cardiothoracic surgery residency). The application process, curriculum, and board certifications involved in each of these pathways vary dramatically.

Traditional Training Pathway (5 years General Surgery, 2-3 years Cardiothoracic Surgery)

Medical students apply to and complete a general surgery residency program (5 clinical years), consisting of clinical rotations through the various surgical disciplines. Many academic-based training programs either encourage or require one or two years of academic research (6-7 years general surgery training). During the fourth general surgery clinical training year, residents apply for a residency position in cardiothoracic surgery. Clinical training in cardiothoracic surgery varies between 2 and 3 years in length. Following successful completion of training, residents are able to apply for certification by both the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Thoracic Surgery. Additional experience, if desired, can be obtained in a number of different fellowship opportunities, including heart failure/transplantation, thoracic aortic surgery, congenital heart surgery, or thoracic surgery. The ACGME website provides a listing of independent thoracic surgery residency programs.

Fast-track Pathway (4 years of General Surgery, 3 years Cardiothoracic Surgery)

Medical students apply to one of the participating general surgery residency programs that offer a fast-track pathway. Residents interested in fast-track programs generally apply after their second year of general surgery residency, although at many institutions the application process is informal, involving discussions between the general surgery and cardiothoracic surgery program directors. For a given institution’s fast-track program, only general surgery residents at that same institution are eligible. Residents who complete this track are eligible for board certification by both the American Board of Surgery (after General Surgery Training) and the American Board of Thoracic Surgery. Residents continue to have exposure to the different fields of surgery before deciding on cardiothoracic surgery (and conversely programs can assess residents’ performance in general surgery) and residents maintain the experience of the general surgery chief resident year. A current list of approved programs can always be found in the latest edition of the Thoracic Surgery RRC newsletter at http://www.acgme.org/acWebsite/RRC_460_News/460n_Index.asp.

As of October 1, 2009 the current list of approved institutions with a Joint Thoracic/General Surgery Track is:
Brigham & Women’s Hospital/Children’s Hospital
Duke University
Massachusetts General Hospital
Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education (Rochester)
New York University School of Medicine
University of Maryland
University of Rochester
University of Virginia
University of Washington
Washington University School of Medicine
Additional information about this pathway can be found at: http://www.acgme.org/acWebsite/RRC_sharedDocs/sh_jointSurgThorSurg.pdf.

Integrated Pathway (6 years Cardiothoracic Surgery)

Medical students apply directly to an integrated cardiothoracic surgery residency program, similar to standard applications for other residency programs. Integrated programs allow both more focused cardiothoracic training, as well as training in fields allied with cardiothoracic surgery that are important to an interdisciplinary approach to cardiovascular and thoracic disease. More specifically, the overarching objective of this training program is to provide a more comprehensive and rational total immersion in the diagnosis and management of all aspects of cardiovascular and thoracic diseases through multi-disciplinary training, including rotations in interventional radiology, interventional cardiology, endovascular surgery, oncology, and pulmonary disease. Integrated programs also allow for more training in new technologies such as robotics and minimally invasive approaches. Upon completion of an integrated residency, residents are eligible to sit for American Board of Thoracic Surgery certification, but not for the American Board of Surgery certification. The ACGME website provides a listing of independent thoracic surgery residency programs under the category “Thoracic Surgery-Integrated.”

As of May, 2010 the current list of approved programs is:
Medical College of Wisconsin Affiliated Hospitals Program
Medical University of South Carolina
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Stanford University
University of Maryland
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of Pennsylvania
University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
University of Washington

Here's some more up to date stuff

http://www.tsda.org/the-tsda/ct-residency-programs/integrated-residency-progams/

 

[tiedyeddog]

What is the most badass trauma story you have? Open thoracotomy in the MRI scanner or anything sweet along those lines?

 

[celling]

Cool. I hope you did not take my post offensive (I doubt you did) @Buzz Me did a thread once and he went MIA.
Not at all

As a guy who is nontrad and knows he will probably graduate medical school in his early 30s, would you recommend a CT integrated program (that is if I end up picking that specialty)?
The integrated program is a shorter program. However, it is harder to get into because of the low number of positions. The merits of the integrated programs are still waiting to be seen. They are still in their infancy and a lot of the old school CT surgeons feel that it is an inferior training program to the traditional fellowship after a general surgery residency. However, there are no statistics to support this. We'll have to wait and see which training program is better.

However, if you want to do any general thoracic surgery in your future practice, the general surgery experience during residency, would be very beneficial (esp in esophageal surgery).

What's the best pathway to become a cardiac surgeon? General surgery residency, then CT fellowship (2 board certifications) or integrated program?

 

[celling]

Hi I'm not sure if you answered this (I don't think you did? I might've missed it) but I keep reading & hearing about CT Surgery's job market going down--how do you feel about this? Do you think in 5 years or more the market might swing another direction in favor of CT surgery again somehow?

Do you think CT Surgeons get compensated fairly for the amount of work a CT Surgeon does? Like money, lifestyle, enjoying the career, etc

Thanks!

The job market has been on the upswing for the last 5 years. I don't anticipate that it's going to do anything but improve in the next couple of years.

Compensation for CT surgeons is less than it was 10-20 years ago, but still is in the top 3 highest paying specialties. Medicare reimbursememts were really cut back a decade or . However, neurosurgery and ortho haven't had significant medicare reimbursement cuts, yet. So, CT surgery may be the highest paying specialty again in the near future. As for lifestyle, it's not a great lifestyle specialty (as compared to Derm, ER, etc), but the overall job satisfaction for CT surgeons is usually pretty high.

 

[celling]

What is the most badass trauma story you have? Open thoracotomy in the MRI scanner or anything sweet along those lines?

Probably a crash clamshell thoracotomy for GSW through the Right middle lobe and through the Rt ventricle. Both were repaired and the pt went home.

 

[tiedyeddog]

Probably a crash clamshell thoracotomy for GSW through the Right middle lobe and through the Rt ventricle. Both were repaired and the pt went home.

Damn, that is badass.

 

[celling]

Damn, that is badass.

It can get intense, but it's a definite rush.

 

[mcloaf]

Probably a crash clamshell thoracotomy for GSW through the Right middle lobe and through the Rt ventricle. Both were repaired and the pt went home.

Just when I think I've talked myself out of cardiac you go and post something like this. SMH.

 

[The Buff OP]

I think I heard somewhere that by 2020 the only pathway to CT will be integrated programs, they are trying to shift that way. Have you heard that too?

 

[The Buff OP]

Just when I think I've talked myself out of cardiac you go and post something like this. SMH.

I haven't seen you in a while, bro. Cardiac kicks ass!

 

[mcloaf]

I haven't seen you in a while, bro. Cardiac kicks ass!

Ya man M2 is keeping me pretty busy. I'm reading pre allo often still but mostly post in the med student forums.

Cardiac is, IMO, the coolest field in medicine to me from a theoretical standpoint (along with transplant). I just don't know that I'm willing to make the lifestyle sacrifices. M3 year will help decide for sure.

Either way, OP is a badass.

 

[The Buff OP]

Ya man M2 is keeping me pretty busy. I'm reading pre allo often still but mostly post in the med student forums.

Cardiac is, IMO, the coolest field in medicine to me from a theoretical standpoint (along with transplant). I just don't know that I'm willing to make the lifestyle sacrifices. M3 year will help decide for sure.

Either way, OP is a badass.

Same here, man. Mostly surgical specialties attract me and who knows what will I pick. I grew up with my dad not being home often, always working and I don't know if I want to do that to my kids since I really wished my dad would of spent more time with us (my bros).

 

[celling]

I think I heard somewhere that by 2020 the only pathway to CT will be integrated programs, they are trying to shift that way. Have you heard that too?

There's talk of that. However, it is really going to depend on how well these integrated programs are training CT surgeons. We probably won't know that for a little while. So, there is some uncertainty when it comes to that. My guess is that around 2020, there will still be CT surgery fellowships available.

 

[rbc1298]

Do you know of any cardiothoracic surgeons in private practice that have the ability/have moved around from place to place throughout their careers? I've heard with surgical subspecialties such as thoracic surgery, its hard uproot because of the politics involved in getting referrals from local cardiologists.

 

[celling]

Do you know of any cardiothoracic surgeons in private practice that have the ability/have moved around from place to place throughout their careers? I've heard with surgical subspecialties such as thoracic surgery, its hard uproot because of the politics involved in getting referrals from local cardiologists.

The majority of surgeons have worked in 2+ practices in their career. However, I would think that developing a new referral base would be difficult after moving to a new city but not impossible.

However, I'm not the best one to answer your question. I'm still in training. A CV surgery attending would be the best person to ask.

 

[Abraxas65]

How are you able to keep a balance between CV residency/fellowship and something resembling a normal life (ie significant other, kids, friends, family etc).

 

[celling]

How are you able to keep a balance between CV residency/fellowship and something resembling a normal life (ie significant other, kids, friends, family etc).

Its not easy by any means. You have to have a very understanding partner and even then there are going to be some fights about not seeing them enough. I try to read, study, and practice while I'm in the hospital so that when I'm at home my GF gets my full attention.

 

[Gurby]

Probably a crash clamshell thoracotomy for GSW through the Right middle lobe and through the Rt ventricle. Both were repaired and the pt went home.

Did he get shot in the waiting room? How did he make it to the hospital alive?!

 

[Omppu27]

Not really related to CT, but residency in general.

I'm not sure if anyone has asked you this, but how exactly do you keep sane? Reading, exercising, etc? Did you have trouble adjusting to residency at all out of medical school?

 

[celling]

Did he get shot in the waiting room? How did he make it to the hospital alive?!

He was young and initially compensated for his tamponade fairly well, but eventually decompensated. If he had got shot in the LV, he would have died.

 

[celling]

Not really related to CT, but residency in general.

I'm not sure if anyone has asked you this, but how exactly do you keep sane? Reading, exercising, etc? Did you have trouble adjusting to residency at all out of medical school?

Yeah, everyone has a little trouble adjusting to the large workload, but it is easier now with intern hour restrictions.

How do you stay insane? You'll lose a bit of your sanity in surgery residency. Everyone does, but not everyone admits to it. There's no way around it. The best way to minimize it is to make time with your family regularly. Try to exercise 2-3 times a week if possible (easier on some services than others). However, the old surgerical motto still holds true "Eat when you can, Sleep when you can, Read when you can, and don't mess with the pancreas".

 

[Mr Roboto]

He was young and initially compensated for his tamponade fairly well, but eventually decompensated. If he had got shot in the LV, he would have died.

This happened in the first episode of some awful TV show about an ED. The EDP did a thoracotomy and stuck his finger in the hole until a CT surgeon showed up. I thought it was super fake and that the pt would've died long before getting to the hospital. Interesting to learn it wasn't completely fake!

 

[JLeBling]

Probably a crash clamshell thoracotomy for GSW through the Right middle lobe and through the Rt ventricle. Both were repaired and the pt went home.

Who cares about lifestyle if you get to do this???
\justsaying

 

[Instatewaiter]

Who cares about lifestyle if you get to do this???
\justsaying

spoken like someone who has never worked a lifestyle like that

 

[CardiothoracicSurgery]

Will DOs or Caribbean MDs have a less of a chance in becoming a Cardiothoracic Surgeon?

 

[celling]

Who cares about lifestyle if you get to do this???
\justsaying

You need to identify your priorities before deciding which specialty you go into. Some people want a good lifestyle. Ct surgeons may not have a great lifestyle but we make a significant difference in people's lives and we get to do some kick ass operations.

 

[celling]

Will DOs or Caribbean MDs have a less of a chance in becoming a Cardiothoracic Surgeon?

The short answer is yes. However it's not impossible. Work hard and keep your eye on the ball. You'll make it if you really want to.

 

[AlphaKY1]

OP thanks for this! How does a CT surgeon's hours, residency, and such compare to a trauma surgeons?

 

[celling]

OP thanks for this! How does a CT surgeon's hours, residency, and such compare to a trauma surgeons?

CT surgery training is either done via the traditional pathway (5-7 years of General Surgery followed by 2-3 years of CTS) or one of the new integrated programs (6-7 years). Trauma surgery is usually performed by people who do a Trauma/Critical Care Fellowship which is 5-7 years of General Surgery followed by a 1 year Trauma/Critical Care Fellowship. The hours that you work during your fellowship are much more substantial for CTS than trauma/critical care.

When you get into practice, CT surgeons usually work more hours than trauma surgeons as well.