Educating Tomorrow's Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons in Canada: An Evolving Process
Societal (1), technological, organizational (2), and educational developments during the past ten years havebrought about increasing pressures for change in the graduate medical education of cardiac and thoracicsurgeons (3). These changes effectively lengthened their training to eight years and created a double standardfor the education of a thoracic surgeon. A task force mandated by the Royal College of Physicians andSurgeons of Canada nucleus committees in both cardiac and thoracic surgery, with the support of theCanadian Society of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeons, addressed these issues and made the followingrecommendations: cardiac surgery and thoracic surgery should each become a primary specialty with its ownnucleus committee. Each specialty would require six years of training, with the possibility of obtainingcertification in both specialties after an additional eighteen months of training. Each specialty could also beentered after the completion of full training in general surgery. In addition, the task force urged thedevelopment of a curriculum to guide educational objectives in each specialty. These changes promise tocreate a flexible, shorter, and more focused program for cardiac and thoracic surgeons in both university andcommunity settings.