First nationwide survey on the experience of Indian cardiac surgeons about international fellowship programmes

The correct path after finishing residency in cardiac surgery (CS) has been unclear to most of the young cardiac surgeons. Pursuing a fellowship abroad is by far the most preferred option for many residents after residency. We report the results of the first nationwide survey on the experience of Indian cardiac surgeons who have pursued a fellowship abroad.

A 10-question Web-based survey was distributed in March, 2018, to all cardiac surgeons in India who have done at least 1 year of fellowship or registrarship in CS abroad. A reminder was sent after 1 month. All responses were verified for genuineness and entirety. A significant 55 responses qualified for survey analysis.

Fifty-five surgeons with a mean experience of 8.1 years after residency and at least 1 year of international training responded to the survey. Australia and New Zealand were the most common countries opted for post-residency training and a majority did a 2-year international fellowship. Most of them were fairly satisfied with protocol learning (4.1/5), research work (3.3/5) and financial support (3.7/5) but not with the surgical hands-on experience (2.9/5). The greatest challenge after the fellowship was to establish an independent practice and get patient referrals. Forty per cent of the surgeons felt that Indian post-residency training could be comparable to international fellowships if the centre is chosen wisely. A few (16%) of them even believed that Indian post-residency training is better than international fellowships.

International fellowships have their own merits and demerits and are to be chosen wisely. In the present situation, Indian post-residency training for basic surgical work is comparable to that of overseas. However, international exposure is recommended for learning advances in cardiac surgical subspecialities like minimally invasive cardiac surgery (MICS), robotic CS, aortic and endovascular techniques and heart failure surgeries.