Improving patient outcomes

Curated resources, tools, events, news, and videos for aspiring, in-training, and experienced surgeons.

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Apply Today for TSF Awards

The Thoracic Surgery Foundation is the charitable heart of STS. Fund your future regardless of whether your niche is lab research, process innovation, global humanitarian outreach, or learning specialized skills to bring back to your community. The application deadline for most awards is Sept. 15.

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Education

Network and stay on the cutting edge of cardiothoracic surgeryView All >

Event
STS Leadership Institute

An opportunity for early and mid-career STS surgeon members to learn how to lead in and out of the OR.

Mar 21, 2024 – Jan 23, 2025

Zoom, Chicago, and Los Angeles

Korean Society for Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery (blue background, computer-generated heart)

Event
Heart Valve Disease Forum 2024

KTCVS-STS Asia Symposium on Valvular Heart Disease

Aug 30–31, 2024

Seoul, Korea

Webinar
Latin Heart Rounds: Rounds on a Baby with ALCAPA Requiring Post-Cardiotomy ECMO

Up-to-date insights on the management of children with congenital heart disease requiring VA ECMO

Sep 6, 2024

1 p.m. ET

Data & Research

Initiatives and resources to improve quality care for patients

STS National Database

The gold standard for clinical registries and quality improvement

Open

Public Reporting

Institutional performance and national benchmarks for survival, complications, and other measures.

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Current Projects

The latest research in progress from programs funded by STS

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Data Access Programs

STS data for quality improvement initiatives, clinical trials, and research

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Resources

Essential tools for cardiothoracic surgeons

Risk Calculator

Calculate a patient’s risk of mortality and morbidities for common cardiac surgeries.

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Early Career Hub

Guidance and resources for CT surgeons in the first 7 years of practice

Open

Clinical Practice Documents and Policies

Improve patient outcomes with guidelines from experienced medical professionals.

Surgical Checklists

PDFs to prepare you and your team for upcoming surgeries.

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News & Media

The latest from the field of thoracic surgeryView All >

News
TSF Scholarship Recipient Shares Insights from a Uganda Mission

Application Deadline for 2025 Thoracic Surgery Foundation Scholarships Is September 15, 2024

In 2023, Dr. Chizoba Efobi was awarded the Thoracic Surgery Foundation (TSF) International Medical Volunteer Scholarship and used it to participate in a surgical outreach trip to Kampala, Uganda.

Dr. Efobi volunteered at the Uganda Heart Institute, located within the Mulago National Referral Hospital. There, he joined a medical mission group from the US to mentor local healthcare providers. Their goal was to help the local team become more efficient and increase the number of heart surgeries performed each year.

TSF 2 — Dr. Chizoba Efobi, joined by TSF Every Heartbeat Matters awardee Dr. Pranava Sinha on the surgical outreach trip to Uganda.

According to Dr. Efobi, what made this mission unique was its capacity to involve the entire heart care team at the Uganda Heart Institute, including cardiology, anesthesia, nursing, and clinical administration. The focus was on teaching, training, and skills transfer rather than the volume of cases performed.

“I observed a different model of upscaling skills and training not limited to surgery, but across the entire field of heartcare,” explained Dr. Efobi. “In this case, skills and knowledge transfer were given the highest priority and guided other activities. The results of the sustained local capacity building were very evident.”

Bringing the Lessons Home
Upon returning home to Nigeria, Dr. Efobi’s participation in the TSF International Medical Volunteer Scholarship positively impacted his hospital, including the recommencement of the open-heart surgery program. Patients are now experiencing “uneventful perioperative periods” discharge within a week and satisfying recoveries.

Learn more about Dr. Efobi’s mission experience as a TSF International Medical Volunteer Scholar in his personal blog.

TSF, the charitable heart of the STS, is currently accepting applications for its 2025 awards season with nearly $1.7 million in available funding. Award categories include research, education, innovation, and humanitarian outreach. The application deadline for most awards is Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024.

Aug 29, 2024

2 min read

Podcast
#165 S4: Overcoming Friction in Your Work and Your Life

Healthcare - and life- are filled with friction. In this episode, Dr. Michael Maddaus talks with Huggy Rao, co-author of The Friction Project: How Smart Leaders Make the Right Things Easier, about eliminating the forces that make it harder to get things done. Together, they dig into causes and solutions for five of the most common and damaging friction troubles: oblivious leaders, addition sickness, broken connections, jargon monoxide, and fast and frenzied people and teams.

50 mins.

Blog
New Mandatory Payment Model for CABG Coming in 2026

This month, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized a new mandatory episode-based alternative payment arrangement called the Transforming Episode Accountability Model (TEAM).

Aug 23, 2024

3 min read

Molly Peltzman, STS Advocacy

STS News, the Society’s quarterly magazine for members only, brings you the latest CT surgery news, research, stories, and more to help keep you in the know and connected to your peers.

Read the issue