Curriculum

• First and second assisting in a variety of routine and complex cardiothoracic surgeries including: 

  • Aortic, mitral, and tricuspid valve repair/replacement
  • Coronary artery bypass grafting 
  • Robotic-assisted coronary artery bypass grafting 
  • Robotic-assisted mitral valve replacement 
  • Aortic surgery 
  • Heart transplant 

• Endoscopic vein harvesting training 

• Daily rounding with the surgical team

• Patient presentations and implementation of the plan of care 

• Complete history and physical exams to assess patients preoperatively for surgical candidacy 

• Postoperative assessments and documentation for patients  in the intensive care units and the cardiac telemetry unit 

• Patient and family education on topics such as surgical benefits and risks, discharge teaching, and medication management 

• Approximately 50 to 60 clinical hours per week in addition to didactic education requirements 

• Live and web-based lectures discussing:

  • The etiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of cardiothoracic conditions including valvular heart disease, coronary artery disease, pulmonary disease and malignancy, and aortic pathology 

  • Cardiovascular and thoracic anatomy 

  • Surgical instruments 

  • Pharmacology 

  • Pre-, peri- and postoperative management and associated complications 

• Weekly cardiothoracic surgery department conferences 

• Written examinations 

• Assigned academic readings 

• Case study presentations 

• Attendance is required for all scheduled lectures and all assignments must be completed before graduating from the fellowship

• Daily faculty mentorship throughout the program 

• Formalized assessment and feedback from faculty members at designated intervals throughout the program 

• As a final project, the fellow will write a medical article discussing a principle of cardiothoracic surgery for publication in the journal of their choice to foster APP advancement in cardiothoracic surgery

• Satisfactory end-of-rotation reviews by all faculty members 

• Completion of all assignments and case studies 

• Submission of the final projection, a cardiothoracic surgery article for publication in a medical journal of the fellow’s choice

• Successfully second assist a valve replacement surgery and coronary artery bypass surgery

Upon completion of the program, the APP fellow will be awarded a Certificate of Completion signed by the chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, the medical director of the program, and the program director.