Developing the academic thoracic surgeon: Teaching surgery

Teaching surgery can be a very gratifying experience for those of us involv ed in academic thoracic surgery. Fundamentals of a good residency program r equire that patients should always be placed in the highest priority. Howev er, the residency program should also be committed to teaching as a priorit y. Creating the proper operating room environment is essential for optimal conduct of the operation. This environment is similar to that of the airlin e industry, which is known as crew or cockpit resource management. The desi gn of a teaching program needs to have evaluation as one of its key element s. In addition to resident evaluation, it is also important to have faculty evaluation by the residents. The goal of any residency program should be t o foster the development of the future lenders in our specialty. The inform ation contained within this article represents the art and science of teach ing thoracic surgery as applied by the faculty in the Division of Cardiac S urgery at The Johns Hopkins Hospital.