A Cross-sectional Review of Cardiothoracic Surgery Department Chairs and Program Directors

Departmental leadership, namely the chair and program director, are sought after positions among academic cardiothoracic surgeons. However, the path to achieving these positions remains unclear. This study sought to characterize the demographics, educational pathways, and career trajectories of current cardiothoracic academic leaders in the United States.

A comprehensive list of ACGME accredited thoracic surgery residency and fellowship programs was obtained. Department chairs and program directors were identified for each program from May to June 2019. For each surgeon, demographic data, education, and training institutions were identified. Information was obtained primarily using institutional based websites.

A total of 72 department chairs or division chiefs and 77 program directors were identified. A minority of chairs and program directors were female (4.2%, 10.4%) or had PhD degrees (4.2%, 6.5%). A large number of surgeons trained in the North East region (35%), with Brigham and Women's hospital being the most common training institution (8%). Few chairs (31%) and program directors (39%) hold leadership positions at the institution at which they trained, however a larger proportion (52.8%, 58.4%) remain or return to the same region. Finally, 34.7% of chairs and 32.5% of program directors had some institutional exposure to where they currently practice, through medical school or training.

Cardiothoracic department chairs and program directors represent an important group of surgical leaders within our evolving field. As we better understand this group of surgeon-leaders, young trainees and junior faculty that aspire for leadership positions may have a clearer idea of the path to these positions.