Clinical Exposure to Cardiothoracic Surgery for Medical Students and General Surgery Residents

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Training
• Cardiothoracic Surgery

Background:

• Integrated 6-year cardiothoracic surgery (CTS) residency programs are altering recruitment strategies.
• Recruitment now targets both general surgery (GS) residents and medical students.
• Understanding clinical exposure is crucial for effective recruitment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the extent of clinical exposure to CTS for medical students.
• To assess the clinical exposure to CTS for general surgery residents.
• To identify potential barriers in recruitment for CTS programs.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of data from the Association of American Medical Colleges Visiting Student Application Service (2010–2017).
• Review of Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Case Log Reports (2010–2018).
• Extracted data included student rotation offers and resident case logs for CTS procedures.

Main Results:

• Annual applications for CTS rotations by medical students increased by 11.8%, with high demand.
• Fewer students received CTS rotation offers compared to other surgical specialties (53.4% vs. >74%).
• General surgery residents performed a mean of 39.3 CTS procedures, with only 7.3% being cardiac cases.

Conclusions:

• Medical students face limited elective rotation opportunities in CTS despite high interest.
• General surgery residents receive insufficient exposure to CTS, especially cardiac procedures.
• Enhancing clinical exposure for both groups is vital for recruiting future CTS specialists.