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Ann Thorac Surg 2006;81:1180
© 2006 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons

Correspondence

Overview of the Thoracic Surgery Residents Association

David Michael McMullan, MD

President, Thoracic Surgery Residents Association, Cardiovascular Surgery, Children's National Medical Center, 111 Michigan Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20010

(Email: dmcmulla{at}cnmc.org).

To the Editor:

Since its inception in 1998, the Thoracic Surgery Residents Association (TSRA) has been the official representative organization for thoracic surgery residents in the United States. Each cardiothoracic trainee becomes a member upon enrollment in an Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) accredited thoracic surgery residency program and maintains membership until completion of thoracic residency or subsequent advanced fellowship training. The principle mission of the TSRA is to improve thoracic surgery education by providing a forum for the dissemination of academic, administrative, legislative, and clinical practice information to trainees and to facilitate ongoing communication between residents and the Thoracic Surgery Directors Association (TSDA). The TSRA also provides resident representation directly to several important national organizations, including the American Association of Medical Colleges, American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS), Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education, Joint Commission for Thoracic Surgical Education, Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS), and CTSNet.

As both trainees and future leaders of our field, residents are acutely aware of several recent trends affecting our specialty. We recognize that the present era of uncertainty will necessarily bring about changes that may affect the structure and focus of resident education and most other aspects of thoracic surgery. By periodically surveying our 350-plus members, the TSRA performs a crucial role in accurately representing the collective view of thoracic surgery residents on a number of issues. It is our hope that information obtained in this manner will provide the leaders of our specialty with additional resources to continually improve the educational process. Furthermore, we believe that a clear appreciation of current resident concerns is critical to understanding and reversing the alarming decline in thoracic surgery residency applications.

In order to provide residents with the opportunity to openly discuss pertinent issues, the TSRA organizes two resident-oriented forums that are held during the annual AATS and STS meetings. These sessions are designed to encourage direct interaction between residents, invited speakers, and representatives of the AATS, STS, and TSDA. The often lively nature of these discussions reflects a genuine interest in residency training shared by the meeting participants and underscores the importance of such dynamic interactions in the course of advanced surgical education.

The importance of identifying true mentors during residency cannot be overstated. Each year, the TSRA formally recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to cardiothoracic surgery education. The Socrates Award is presented to a surgical educator who has demonstrated a significant commitment to excellence in resident education. The Dr Dwight McGoon Award is presented to an individual who has significantly contributed to the clinical and educational development of thoracic surgery residents through inspiring academic and political contributions to the specialty. These awards represent our sincere appreciation for the exemplary contributions of these individuals and we hope that they may serve to further motivate the surgical educators in our field.

We encourage all thoracic surgery residents to actively participate in the TSRA. The timely exchange of information and feedback is essential to help direct the future of our changing specialty. For comments, suggestions, or to learn more about the TSRA, please visit the website: http://www.tsda.org/tsra/tsra_index.htm.





This Article
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