Program Description

Our two-year residency program in cardiothoracic surgery provides residents with comprehensive training in anatomy, physiology and pathophysiology of cardiovascular, respiratory and upper gastrointestinal diseases. During the program, residents are expected master the clinical diagnosis, interpretation of diagnostic tests and surgical skills necessary to treat cardiothoracic conditions.

Each year, two residents are appointed on July 1. To be eligible for consideration, applicants must complete an approved general surgical residency and are expected to be eligible for examination by the American Board of Surgery. Residents in this program who have successfully completed their training requirements are then able to apply for examination by the American Board of Thoracic Surgery.

During the program, residents will gain a comprehensive understanding of the diagnosis, treatment and management of congenital surgical diseases and will be able to perform basic procedures such as ASD and VSD repair, PDA ligation and correction of abnormal pulmonary venous return. Our residents are also integrally involved with heart transplantation, the insertion of mechanical circulatory support devices, postoperative management of devices, and immunosuppression.

Residents are expected to communicate clearly and compassionately with families and patients, as well as develop effective working relationships with other health care professionals in a multidisciplinary environment.

By the end of their second year, residents are expected to function as independent surgeons in all aspects of preoperative assessments, surgical procedures and postoperative care in adult cardiac and general thoracic surgery, including the interpretation and management of hemodynamic parameters, mechanical respiration and potential complications.

Rotations

The two-year training program in the Department of Cardiovascular-Thoracic Surgery at Rush is structured to train four residents at any given time.

The first year comprises three months of congenital heart surgery, three months of adult cardiac surgery and six months of thoracic surgery. The second year comprises a six-month rotation in adult cardiovascular surgery at the new John H. Stroger, Jr., Hospital of Cook County, and a final six-month rotation in adult cardiac surgery and transplantation at Rush University Medical Center.

The Department of Cardiovascular-Thoracic Surgery continues in its efforts to create the best cardio-thoracic training program in the country. In spite of the challenges, that medical environments are experiencing across the country these days, we are experiencing significant growth in general cardiac and thoracic surgical cases, cardiac transplantation, mechanical assist devices and major vascular referrals. Our research program examining the metabolic effects of myocardial protection on myocyte function and the creation of a microembolization model of chronic congestive heart failure serve as the platform for future investigative work in innovative therapies to improve and protect cardiac function. Recent graduates have completed their training and moved on to excellent practice opportunities or outstanding clinical fellowship training at world class institutions.

Each of these strengths were recognized by the American Board of Thoracic Surgery during the most recent site visit by the Residency Review Committee in 2003. The program received full accreditation for four years. While we are satisfied that the strengths of the thoracic training program have been reaffirmed by this review, we look forward to taking on the challenges that face all of our training programs, such as resident duty hours, competency assessments and career counseling/mentoring in the future. We invite you to submit an application to join this stimulating and dynamic training program.

The deadline for applications for July 2010 is January 12, 2009, through the National Residency Match Program.