STS News - Fall 2018

The schedule for the upcoming STS 55th Annual Meeting at the San Diego Convention Center has been reorganized to help attendees spend fewer days away from their patients—without sacrificing the dynamic, interactive experience that they’ve come to expect.

Three years into an R01 grant, researchers have made a number of discoveries that will help cardiothoracic surgeons improve patient outcomes after lung cancer surgery.

The reality is that the $750 you pay for dues each year goes to support the efforts of a complex organization that solely exists to serve you and your patients; and thanks to careful financial management and the Society’s success in generating non-dues revenue, that dues number has not gone up since 2002.

Teamwork is at the core of high performance and consistency. Good teams function as a whole—its members helping out where needed and stepping up when required. In our specialty, this behavior can save lives. But how are high-functioning teams put together?

Based on 22 years of work that exposed me to the operations of more than 200 associations before I was employed by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons, I can report with confidence that cardiothoracic surgeons and their teams possess a fire in the belly, both on matters of patient care and on matters of engagement with their medical special society. ... [STS President Keith Naunheim] brought some of that fire with him to a special “unveiling” ceremony with the staff on September 28, as we dedicated a new Presidents Wall at our headquarters office in Chicago (view a photo of the Wall, and zoom in to read a dedication to the Society’s Past Presidents and the STS Core Values.)

Find the latest updates on STS member job changes, promotions, and awards.

Cardiothoracic surgeon Daniel J. Boffa, MD is the recipient of the 2018 STS/ACS Health Policy Scholarship, a joint offering from STS and the American College of Surgeons that enables a member surgeon to attend the intensive Executive Leadership Program in Health Policy and Management at Brandeis University near Boston.

Read about STS leaders participating in cardiothoracic surgery meetings around the world, a surgeon match challenge for The Thoracic Surgery Foundation, an opportunity to submit proposals for STS funding of projects that would reinvest in the specialty, and more.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is reevaluating the scientific evidence supporting volume requirements for hospitals and heart team members who perform transcatheter aortic valve replacement procedures.