2011 TSDA Boot Camp

TSDA Hosts Fourth Annual CT Surgery Boot Camp

24 Residents Gather for Hands-On Training
July 14-17, 2011

View photos from this event.

As technology continues to drive the way doctors practice medicine, the Thoracic Surgery Directors Association (TSDA) hosted its fourth annual Cardiothoracic Surgery Boot Camp, July 14-17, 2011 at the William & Ida Friday Center for Continuing Education in Chapel Hill. First year residents from 24 thoracic surgery residency programs across the country joined top-notch faculty, led by James Fann, MD (Stanford University), Rick Feins, MD (University of North Carolina), and George Hicks, Jr., MD (University of Rochester), to gain valuable insights into surgical techniques and expand their base of thoracic surgery knowledge.

Designed to give new cardiothoracic surgery residents extensive hands-on practice, TSDA’s annual Boot Camp uses life-like simulation for surgical procedures. This year, procedures included cardiopulmonary bypass, aortic valve repair, anastomosis, lung ventilation, and lobectomy.

“Boot Camp was perfectly setup to introduce career advancement in cardiac and thoracic surgery,” noted one resident in an evaluation. “The hand-picked faculty was a key element to the camp and collectively they shared the goal of introducing foreign concepts in the field and did it in a very non-intimidating fashion.”

Seeking out multidisciplinary approaches to teaching, the TSDA Boot Camp faculty also brought in guest speakers from the world of 3-D gaming and aviation. Ron Maness, a former United States Air Force Thunderbird, offered insights into how pilots use simulation to avoid errors in the cockpit. Additionally, Richard Boyd from Lockheed Martin Virtual World Labs spoke to how 3-D simulation tools for health care could make analysis and training fast, safe, and measurable.

“Other professional fields have made great gains when it comes to quality by using simulations in teaching,” said Rick Feins, MD. “Sharing multidisciplinary learning approaches with up-and-coming residents is a great way to expand and build on their current knowledge base.”

Now in its fourth year, this weekend course incorporated simulated emergency scenarios and surgery demonstrations. Residents benefited from extensive one-on-one time with the faculty, which provided advice and guidance along with the finer points of cardiothoracic surgery basics. Faculty and resident assessments were integrated into the curriculum throughout the weekend, providing valuable data on surgical skills, teaching methods, and simulator-based competencies.

Based on resident evaluation and program director feedback, the Boot Camp was a success, with 91 percent of program directors saying that their resident’s experience was very or extremely helpful. Resident Boot Camp participants displayed similar enthusiasm for the program, indicating that it was a “phenomenal experience,” and a “fantastic opportunity.”

“We are pleased to have such a high level of participation this year,” said George Hicks, Jr., MD, President of TSDA and Boot Camp Program Director. “The faculty was enthusiastic and patient. Overall, it was a great experience, and TSDA is committed to providing continued simulation training for surgical residents.”

The program was developed by TSDA and funded by an educational grant from the Joint Council on Thoracic Surgery Education, Inc. (JCTSE).

TSDA would like to thank the following supporters for their contributions
to the TSDA 2011 Boot Camp:

Joint Council on Thoracic Surgery Education, Inc.
University of North Carolina, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery
B-Line Medical
The Chamberlain Group
Covidien
CryoLife, Inc.
Ethicon Endo-Surgery, A Johnson & Johnson Company
Karl Storz Endoscopy
Maquet Cardiovascular
Medtronic, Inc.
Olympus America, Inc.
Pilling Division of Teleflex Medical
Scanlan International, Inc.
Sorin Group USA, Inc.
St. Jude Medical

2011 Boot Camp Participants

2011 Boot Camp Program Directors
James I. Fann, MD, Stanford University
Richard H. Feins, MD, University of North Carolina
George L. Hicks, Jr., MD, University of Rochester

2011 Boot Camp Faculty
Ronald E. Angona, Jr., CCP, University of Rochester
Peymen Benharash, MD, University of California Los Angeles
Brian Bethea, MD, University of Texas Southwestern
Lewis Britton, MD, Albany Medical College
Harold M. Burkhart, MD, Mayo Clinic
Phil Camp, MD, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Joanna Chikwe, MD, Mount Sinai Medical Center
Daniel N. Coore, PhD, University of West Indies, Jamaica
Alberto de Hoyos, MD, Northwestern University
Richard Engelman, MD, Bay State Medical Center
Mark Ferguson, MD, University of Chicago
James J. Gangemi, MD, University of Virginia
Eugene Grossi, MD, New York University
John Hammon, MD, Wake Forest University
Jeffrey Heinle, MD, Texas Children’s Hospital
Mark D. Iannettoni, MD,  University of Iowa
John Ikonomidis, MD, Medical University of South Carolina
William Jakobleff, Jr., MD, Montefiore/Albert Einstein University Medical Center
Andy Kiser, MD, University of North Carolina
Rick Lee, MD, Northwestern University
Eric Lehr, MD, University of Maryland
Walter McGregor, MD, Allegheny General Hospital
Joseph I. Miller, MD, Emory University
Jon Nesbitt, MD, Vanderbilt University
Bill Northrup, MD
Mark Onaitis, MD, Duke University
Jay Pal, MD, University of Texas San Antonio
Richard Prager, MD, University of Michigan
Varun Puri, MD, Washington University
Paul S. Ramphal, FRCS, DM, University of West Indies, Jamaica
Bruce Reitz, MD, Stanford University
W. Steves Ring, MD, University of Texas Southwestern
Norman Snow, MD, University of Illinois
Mithran Sukumar, MD, Oregon Health & Science University
Mark Turrentine, MD, Indiana University
Nirmal Veeramachaneni, MD, University of North Carolina
Jennifer D. Walker, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital

2011 Boot Camp Residency Program Participants
Allegheny General Hospital
Cedars Sinai Medical Center
Cleveland Clinic
Loma Linda University
Montefiore/Albert Einstein University Medical Center
New York Presbyterian-Columbia
New York University
Oregon Health and Science University
Texas Heart Institute/Baylor College of Medicine
Tufts Medical Center
University of Alabama
University of Arizona
University of California Davis
University of California Los Angeles
University of Chicago
University of Colorado
University of Iowa
University of Kentucky
University of Mississippi
University of Pittsburgh
University of Southern California
University of Utah
University of Wisconsin
University of Virginia