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J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2003;126:1235-1242
© 2003 The American Association for Thoracic Surgery

Presidential address

Presidential address: thoracic surgery education—responding to a changing environment

^a Department of Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA

Read at the Eighty-third Annual Meeting of The American Association for Thoracic Surgery, Boston, Mass, May 4-7, 2003.

Received for publication May 1, 2003; accepted for publication May 28, 2003.

^* Address for reprints Fred A. Crawford, Jr, MD, Horace G. Smithy Professor & Chairman, Department of Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina, 96 Jonathan Lucas St, Room 409, Charleston, SC 29425, USA
crawfrdf@musc.edu

The first 300 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Fred A. Crawford, Jr, MD

It is human nature to believe that the changes we witness and participate in are the most profound in history. In one lifetime, my grandfather witnessed a change in transportation from horseback to space travel and flights to the moon. In roughly the same 100 years, our specialty evolved from draining empyemas and a fear of even suturing the heart to repairing the most complex congenital defects, heart and lung transplantation, and even replacement of the heart with a mechanical device. Despite these advances, some fear that our specialty may be facing significant decline—even extinction—because of equally impressive advances by our colleagues, especially in cardiology. Bill Baumgartner, in his wonderful presidential address to The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS), described the changes occurring in our specialty and the opportunities afforded by these changes.¹ Today I would like to discuss how these changes and the environment in which they are occurring are affecting our educational process and how cardiothoracic surgery education is evolving to respond to this changing environment. Please note that I chose the title "Thoracic Surgery Education" not "Thoracic Surgery Resident Education," because surgical education is a continuous process extending from medical school through the postgraduate years. Because general and thoracic surgery education have been so closely intertwined, many of the issues important to one are also critical to the other.

The American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS) was founded in 1917, and the first president was Samuel Meltzer, who stated in his presidential address, "The chief aims of the Association are the advancement of knowledge and skill in thoracic surgery."² He went on to say in the discussion, "I am confident that a time will come when thoracic surgery will be equal in importance to surgery of the abdomen."² One prospective member disapproved . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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