Educational goals and objectives for the Thoracic Surgery Residency Program
The overall goal of the Thoracic Surgery Fellowship is to graduate physicians
competent to perform independently the following: operative, peri-operative,
and critical care of patients with pathologic conditions within the chest.
This includes the surgical care of: coronary artery disease; diseases
of the trachea, lungs, esophagus, and chest wall; abnormalities of the
great vessels and heart valves; congenital anomalies of the chest and
heart; tumors of the mediastinum; diseases of the diaphragm; and management
of chest injuries.
The resident selected into our program will have completed an accredited
General Surgery Residency Program. This individual will have the necessary
skills and knowledge in surgical principles, techniques, and management
of disease processes. The focus of our program is to build on these accomplishments.
He/she will be given graduated responsibilities with supervision to diagnose
and treat thoracic illnesses, both surgically and non-surgically as indicated,
in a patient centered environment. The environment will be conducive to
delivering safe, effective, cost efficient, compassionate care while preserving
patient confidentiality.
The educational goals and objectives we aim to achieve-
The resident will:
- Have intense training in the necessary basic sciences to understand and
manage thoracic diseases in general and cardiac diseases in particular.
- Gain competence in the following: diagnosis, preparation for a comprehensive
treatment plan, counseling and advocating the patient/family regarding
the disease, prognosis, treatment options, risks, benefits and alternatives
to the plan of therapy and procedure.
- Be adept in preoperative preparation and conduct a safe, efficient and
effective surgery as well as postoperative care.
- Have the ability to utilize resources and tailor the best treatment for
the patient in the current and evolving health care systems (systems-based
practice).
- Understand his/her own abilities, limitations, and seek help in the best
interest of the patient and refer to a place of excellence when appropriate.
- Function effectively and collegially in the health care environment.
- Maintain a culture of life long education and scholarly activities to remain
proficient in the knowledge of established and evolving biomedical, clinical,
epidemiological and social behavioral sciences, as well as the application
of this knowledge to patient care.
- Incorporate practice-based learning to continuously improve patient care.
- Learn the methods and participate in quality improvement to implement appropriate
changes in patient care throughout their career.
- Learn to be compassionate towards the patients and families, respectful
of other professionals and colleagues, respect privacy, maintain integrity
and accountability.
- Participate in local, regional, and national organizations in thoracic surgery.
In order to achieve the stated goals the program will:
- Maintain regular didactic and clinical education sessions.
- Provide necessary tools both electronic and otherwise.
- Provide assignments at each educational level.
- Clearly delineate responsibilities in patient care and assign progressive
responsibility as appropriate.
- Provide sufficient and constant faculty supervision throughout the program.
- Cover all topics and competencies in the curriculum as recommended by ACGME/TSDA.
- Assist in accomplishing all procedural skills necessary to become an independent
Cardiothoracic Surgeon.
- Provide regular faculty member and program director’s evaluation
and recommendations.
- Organize a clinical competency committee and program evaluation committee
to evaluate, assess and improve any deficiencies on an ongoing basis.
- Provide the resident with the opportunity to evaluate the program periodically.
- Provide the resident with Program Director, faculty member and 360-degree
evaluations on a biannual basis at minimum.
- Provide clear guidelines for the trainee.
The program will maintain didactic and clinical education, an environment
of learning, manage fatigue, provide for work-life balance, while evaluating
and counselling on an ongoing basis to facilitate growth towards accomplishment
of these goals.
Block Schedule
1st Year
|
July
|
Aug
|
Sept
|
Oct
|
Nov
|
Dec
|
Jan
|
Feb
|
Mar
|
Apr
|
May
|
June
|
|
Rotation Name
|
Adult Cardiac
|
Congenital Heart
|
Adult Cardiac
|
General Thoracic
|
|
Site
|
Site 1
|
Site 1
|
Site 1
|
Site 2
|
2nd Year
|
July
|
Aug
|
Sept
|
Oct
|
Nov
|
Dec
|
Jan
|
Feb
|
Mar
|
Apr
|
May
|
June
|
|
Rotation Name
|
Adult Cardiac
|
Adult Cardiac
|
Adult Cardiac
|
Adult Cardiac
|
|
Site
|
Site 1
|
Site 1
|
Site 1
|
Site 1
|
Notes:
Site 1 – Newark Beth Israel Medical Center (NBIMC)
Site 2 – Cleveland Clinic Foundation (CCF)
Adult and Congenital Cardiac:
Adult and congenital cardiac training will take place at NBIMC. Residents
will also participate in general thoracic surgery cases at this site when
they are on call, for emergency cases and for complex cases to gain additional
experience.
General Thoracic:
At the end of the first year of training, there will be a dedicated three-month
block of time during which residents will rotate at Cleveland Clinic with
the general thoracic surgery service to gain experience in complex thoracic
cases as well as strengthening their skills in esophageal procedures and
perioperative management.
Outpatient:
During all rotations, residents will spend about twenty percent of their
time in outpatient clinic. They will have (on average) one day per week
dedicated to managing pre- and postoperative patients during office hours.
Research:
Residents will participate in clinical research during all rotations. This
is not structured research time. The research projects will be individually
assigned by and discussed with the program director on a monthly basis.
Residents will work on research during their off-duty time.
Vacation:
Residents will have four weeks of vacation time per year. This will be
taken in four seven-day increments, time depending on resident preference.
Vacation time can only be taken during the Adult Cardiac rotations at
NBIMC. No vacation time will be granted during the Thoracic Surgery and
Congenital Heart rotations.
Conference Schedule
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Sunday
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Monday
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Tuesday
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Wednesday
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Thursday
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Friday
|
|
Week 1
|
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7-9 didactic lecture/conf
|
730 Grand Rounds
|
730-1030 Heart transplant meeting
|
730 M&M
(730 Congenital cardiac meeting)
12 – thoracic tumor board
|
|
Week 2
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730 Business meeting
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7-9 didactic lecture/conf
|
730 Lung Transplant meeting
630p Journal club
|
730-1030 Heart transplant meeting
|
730 M&M
(730 Congenital cardiac meeting)
12 – thoracic tumor board
|
|
Week 3
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730 QA
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7-9 didactic lecture/conf
|
730 Research Meeting
|
730-1030 Heart transplant meeting
|
730 M&M
(730 Congenital cardiac meeting)
12 – thoracic tumor board
|
|
Week 4
|
|
7-9 didactic lecture/conf
|
730 Lung Transplant meeting
|
730-1030 Heart transplant meeting
|
730 M&M
(730 Congenital cardiac meeting)
12 – thoracic tumor board
|