STS News - Winter 2019

Four new e-learning modules are available as part of the Society’s effort to create relevant online continuing education materials for cardiothoracic surgeons and their teams. These modules, on surgical ethics, shared decision-making, breaking bad news, and cultural competencies, can be accessed via the STS Learning Center.

The STS 55th Annual Meeting is just a few weeks away, but it’s not too late to plan to join your colleagues in San Diego, California, for one of the largest cardiothoracic surgery meetings in the world. Save $100 from onsite pricing by registering on or before January 24 at sts.org/annualmeeting.

There is no small amount of pride (read “ego”) in being elected as the “Big Dog” of an organization, and any president who says that’s not true is likely fooling him/herself. But after the first month or so, the bloom comes off the rose and you realize that the real joy comes when you get to really make a difference on a larger scale, not just for yourself or your department or your hospital, but for your specialty. To be given that chance is, in and of itself, a great gift; one for which I am grateful.

Despite many years of clinical training, most cardiothoracic surgeons aren’t provided with sufficient education in a key area of career development—optimizing their value to their organizations. Speakers at the upcoming Practice Management Summit during the STS Annual Meeting in San Diego on Sunday, January 27, will seek to close that knowledge gap, helping attendees understand their value and obtain appropriate compensation.

As we all confront endings, it’s a simple matter of human nature to instinctively recall beginnings. My personal STS beginning occurred in 1987, as one of the Society’s outside attorneys working to secure protections for the organization and its leaders conducting a peer review of a Pennsylvania cardiac surgery unit (the STS peer review program having been a precursor to the National Database in terms of distinguishing the Society among all US medical specialty societies). The real beginning for purposes of this column, however, came on June 1, 2002, when I became an STS employee as the organization began its era of self-management.

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

Read about clinical practice documents on pulmonary metastasectomy and management of malignant pleural effusions, a new podcast series, the 2019 Looking to the Future Scholarship recipients, and more.

In its second year, the STS/EACTS Latin America Cardiovascular Surgery Conference saw growth in both the number of attendees and the number of countries represented. More than 300 people from 33 countries attended the 2018 meeting, held November 15-17 in Cartagena, Colombia, compared to approximately 230 attendees from 23 countries in 2017.

Using Twitter for communication and information dissemination at major medical conferences such as the STS 55th Annual Meeting allows for real-time international conversations, critical appraisal, and networking. Discourse via Twitter broadens the discussion venue for scholarly activity by engaging those attending a meeting, as well as those who are unable to attend. Best of all, these conversations often continue even after the meeting adjourns.

The results of the midterm elections this past November in the United States will provide new opportunities and challenges for STS advocacy. Although Congress is now divided, the election was a successful one for cardiothoracic surgery, as 91% of the candidates supported by STS-PAC won their elections.