Keywords
cardiovascular surgery - education - all levels - cardiac
Editor’s commentary
This is one of three articles written on request and sponsored by the Swiss Society
SGHGC/SSCC (Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Herz- und thorakale Gefüsschirurgie).
It was their aim to give a voice to colleagues afflicted by the Covid-19 pandemic
regarding their career in cardiovascular surgery. Accordingly, personal experience
is reported for which it is futile to achieve a peer review.
ThCVSReports therefore presents to you authentic OPINIONS. Discussion in the form
of Letters-to-the-Editor is very welcome because this topic still raises more questions
than we have currently answers for.
The Editors (BN, MH)
If you can't fly, then run,
if you can't run, then walk,
if you can't walk, then crawl,
but whatever you do
you have to
keep moving forward
Martin Luther King Jr.
Introduction and Historical Note: How Did We Get Here?
Introduction and Historical Note: How Did We Get Here?
There once was a time when being a cardiac surgeon had a very special allure and our
profession, cardiac surgery was our diva. Everyone wanted to be around us. Everything
was glamourous and the grass was always greener on our side. Operating on the heart,
exposing, and touching it was only reserved for some “special ones.” Performing coronary
bypasses, valve replacements, and many other procedures elevated us to the medical
Elysium (!). Operating theaters were crowded, and we felt unbeatable and highly respected.
There were pioneers like C. Walton Lillehei, Åke Senning, Michael De Bakey, or Denton
Cooley who led the way into an even brighter future to come. We were the champions.
But in 1977 Andreas Grüntzig in Zürich changed the cardiovascular world forever.[1] None could foresee his impact, and none thought back then that more than 40 years
later we would be fighting to survive in a catheter-based panorama. It happened again
in 2002 with Alain Cribier implanting a completely percutaneously deployed aortic
valve, another wakeup call, maybe.[2] Major cardiac surgeries, like those our predecessors once performed, have been decreasing
ever since, even though the world's population is bigger, we live longer and age later.[3]
Median sternotomies have been replaced by minimal-access approaches, sutures by catheters,
and wires… cardiac surgeons nowadays subspecialize to meet the current needs and to
be able to follow the pace of medical and industrial (r)evolution, which is probably
reactive and not proactive.[4] We are no longer box-to-box midfielders.[5]
The Question: COVID-19, a Game Changer?
The Question: COVID-19, a Game Changer?
By the very end of 2019, initial reports of a new coronavirus, the severe acute respiratory
syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), from Wuhan, China, were first seeing the light
of the medical world.[6] By then, we were not aware of what was going to be our reality for the upcoming
time. Not only social deprivation but also significant changes in our daily lives,
and jobs have been drastically altered since the beginning of the now declared pandemic.
The medical and socioeconomic impact are still a matter of debate and is unpredictable
how many sequelae this crisis will cause. According to The Economist, on a recent report, more than 25 million elective procedures haven been or will
be canceled during the pandemic, ergo our training.[7]
I would like to say that my training has suffered dramatically the direct consequences
of the new coronavirus and that I was in a position difficult to regain. But it would
not be true. I have seen, however, how colleagues have been recruited to work in intensive
care units (ICUs). I have witnessed how more experienced colleagues have had to adapt
to the new situation and wait (again) for their chance. Luck and patience.
Is SARS-CoV-2 responsible for this? Or is it used as an excuse to hide fundamental
mistakes in our (training) culture? If there is any ….
It is a fact that caseload will decrease and that minimally invasive procedures (not
minimal access) will run the cardiovascular world. Transcatheter procedures will be
offered to lower risk patients and indication will be broadened. It is a matter of
time. Conventional surgery will have a secondary role, reserved only for complex,
and selected cases and reoperations, where low-risk interventions cannot be performed
without any guarantee of success.[4]
If we, the next generation, are meant to operate on more complex patients in the near
future, we should then get an optimal, coordinated and structured training even during
worldwide emergencies as the current pandemic.
Part of the Problem: A Controversial System
Part of the Problem: A Controversial System
After graduating from medical school, 6 years as a minimum and passing the national
license examination, junior doctors in Switzerland enter into residency programs after
a selective procedure and direct interview if aptitudes are felt to match the profile
of a potential cardiac surgeon. Becoming one is no bed of roses with a training program
ranging from a minimum of 6 years up to a nondefined maximum. Even though efforts
have been made, and a more flexible curriculum is about to be introduced, we certainly
need a higher body that acts as an invigilator and regulates and controls the quality
of the training to intervene if irregularities happen to appear. For instance, how
many cardiac surgeons will a country, like Switzerland, need in the next 30 years?
Or how many cardiac surgeons have successfully passed the exit examination in the
past 10 years?
But the question is what do you really need to become a heart surgeon? In my opinion,
there are four aspects that require further explanation as follows: (1) a trainee
with specific characteristics, skills, and ethics; (2) trainers (teachers) willing
to teach and invest time during the learning curve and beyond; (3) a structured training
program, and (4) luck and patience (unfortunately).
The Trainee
As in other professions, cardiac surgery requires specific attributes, intrinsic qualities
that can be enhanced in a specialized, and focused environment. I would like to emphasize
an analytical and calm temperament, structured thinking, communicative skills, social
empathy, and decision making. Dexterity, on the other hand, can theoretically be trained
with repetitive exercises during residency on high-/low-fidelity models. The brain
gives the order, the hand executes it. A brainless surgeon is probably a good technician,
but a weak doctor.
The Trainers
Probably the most important person in every surgical residency program is the trainer.
All attributes from the trainee are required in this special position. Once a trainee,
the trainer has the obligation to teach younger colleagues, particularly in the academic
environment. This is part of the business. The teacher has to remember how his/her
learning curve was, accept the role of “guardian,” and intervene when needed. Teaching
over personal ego, that is the priority.
A Structured Training Program
Without a clear structure, the chances of success will remain very low. Therefore,
it is mandatory that every center generates an in-house curriculum with prespecified
nonnegotiable and flexible objectives that are in synchrony to national and international
standards of education. Interhospital discussions to optimize education should be
recommended. The ideal would be that training programs that are organized from the
highest level of organization of education, they should be coordinated at the Federal
level.
Luck and Patience
As in terms of being at the right time, in the right place for the desired purpose.
The reality is that due to an imbalance of mainly these four aspects, a lack of transparency,
and other nonmedical issues, many candidates end up biting the dust, changing specialization,
or even quitting medicine.
The Potential Solution: Cardiac Surgery and Aviation
The Potential Solution: Cardiac Surgery and Aviation
Aviation is often taken as an example regarding structured training.[8] Both professions require a special dedication and commitment, responsibility, and
understanding, even though they are not directly linked. In fact, there are several
publications that use aviation as an example of standard operation procedures, troubleshooting,
and error-reporting systems.[8]
To become a pilot, military or commercial, cadets must undergo a specific training.
Pilot candidates around the world train in aerodynamics, meteorology, human behavior,
and other subjects during approximately 2 years before they are given their “wings”
and are allowed to apply for a position as first officers. Simulators are mandatory
and paramount and build the base of the training not only in forming cadets but also
in refreshing experienced pilots around the world. By doing so, a controlled and continued
learning system is ensured, complications can be managed and debriefed, and troubleshooting
can be mastered.[9] Moreover, psychological examinations are performed every 6 to 12 months in almost
every commercial airline. In a recent publication from The Society of Thoracic Surgery
survey, more than 55% of the participants, all (cardio)thoracic surgeons, reported
symptoms of burnout or depression.[10] Does this ring any bells?
Is there anything similar possible in our world? For sure, there is. Is it comparable
to aviation? Of course, not. Simulators in aviation can replicate flight scenarios
with surgical precision (mind the irony), every single data are tracked, and they
can be easily reproduced by a computer/simulator where mistakes can be found and addressed.
The introduction of low- and high-fidelity simulators has been already studied by
some authors.[11]
[12]
[13] Even though results are promising, benefit from it for patients is debatable. However,
and in spite of the economic costs, it should be used as a surrogate of real surgery.
Endnote
Cardiac surgery has lost its popularity over the last decades. Becoming a cardiac
surgeon does not only involve manual and mechanical skills or activities. The overall
understanding of the subjacent pathology and the patient as a human being are paramount
during training. With a multifactorial influence as stated above, trainees might find
many difficulties during their path where not only themselves but also the trainer(s)
play an important part in developing the surgeon, and above all, the human. Of course,
external influential factors like the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can
hinder the process and postpone manual skill development. However, external factors
(i.e., a new pandemic, economic crisis, political disturbances, or belic conflicts)
cannot be used as an excuse to postpone and slow down surgical training. As mentioned
before, there are indeed many aspects of a resident's training that should be stimulated
during the program. Furthermore, the lack of a high patient-case load cannot interfere
with surgical development and simulation-based exercises must be introduced into daily
practice. Perseverance and determination characterize our profession, and innovation
and creativity have always arisen in difficult times due to different perspectives
from alternate angles.
