Leadership

David M. Shahian, MD and Keith S. Naunheim, MD join Dr. Varghese to discuss the motivation for developing surgeon-level outcomes metrics and why it’s important.

Richard L. Prager, MD noted that surgeons must embrace their failures and always think about getting better—not winning, but getting better—in order to be successful.

The fine line between delivering quality treatment and embracing innovation may sometimes make cardiothoracic surgeons feel trapped between conflicting goals.

Even though an operation or a process has been around for a long time and may seem “normal,” an innovative idea can change it all. In his Presidential Address at the 2016 STS Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, Mark S. Allen, MD described five common characteristics shared by innovators inside and outside of medicine and urged cardiothoracic surgeons to embrace innovation and ultimately make the specialty better for themselves and their patients.

Over the last several decades, deaths from noncommunicable diseases—including cardiovascular disease and lung and esophageal cancer—have increased in the developing world.

In his Presidential Address at the 2014 STS Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida, Douglas E. Wood, MD challenged his colleagues in the male-dominated profession to welcome in more women and transition away from a masculine, autocratic leadership style.