The journey of becoming a congenital heart surgeon: Too long, too costly, too unpredictable

Charles D Fraser Jr; Matthew F Mikulski; Neil M Venardos; Carlos M Mery; Andrew Well

doi:10.1016/j.jtcvs.2023.05.046

The journey of becoming a congenital heart surgeon: Too long, too costly, too unpredictable

J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2024 Jan;167(1):312-321.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.jtcvs.2023.05.046. Epub 2023 Jun 27.

Authors

Charles D Fraser Jr¹, Matthew F Mikulski², Neil M Venardos², Carlos M Mery², Andrew Well²

Affiliations

¹ Division of Pediatric and Congenital Cardiothoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery and Perioperative Care, Dell Medical School, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Tex; Texas Center for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease, UT Health Austin and Dell Children's Medical Center, Austin, Tex. Electronic address: charles.fraser@austin.utexas.edu.
² Division of Pediatric and Congenital Cardiothoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery and Perioperative Care, Dell Medical School, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Tex; Texas Center for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease, UT Health Austin and Dell Children's Medical Center, Austin, Tex.

PMID: 37385526
DOI: 10.1016/j.jtcvs.2023.05.046

Abstract

Objective: The pathway to become a congenital heart surgeon (CHS) is challenging and unpredictable. Previous voluntary manpower surveys have shed partial light on this problem but have not included all trainees. We believe that this arduous journey merits more attention.

Methods: To examine the real-life challenges of recent participants in Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-accredited CHS training programs, we conducted phone interviews with all graduates of approved programs from 2021 to 2022. This institutional review board approved survey focused on issues including preparation, length of training, debt burden, and employment.

Results: All 22 (100%) graduates during the study period were interviewed. Age at fellowship completion was a median 37 years (range, 33-45 years). Pathways to fellowship included traditional general surgery with adult cardiac (43%), abbreviated general surgery ("4 + 3," 19%) and integrated-6 (38%). Time spent on any pediatric related rotation before CHS fellowship was a median 4 months (range, 1-10 months). During CHS fellowship, graduates reported medians of 100 (range, 75-170) total cases and 8 (range, 0-25) neonatal cases as the primary surgeon. Debt burden at completion was a median of $179,000 (range, $0-$550,000). Maximal financial compensation during training before and during CHS fellowship were medians of $65,000 (range, $50,000-$100,000) and $80,000 (range, $65,000-$165,000), respectively. Six (27.3%) are currently in roles in which they cannot practice independently (5 [22.7%] faculty instructors, 1 [4.5%] CHS clinical fellowship). Median salary in first job is $450,000 (range, $80,000-$700,000).

Conclusions: Graduates of CHS fellowships are old, and training is highly variable. Aptitude screening and pediatric-focused preparation are minimal. Debt burden is onerous. Further attention to refining training paradigms and compensation are justified.

Keywords: congenital heart surgery training; education; financial burden; training variability.

MeSH terms

Accreditation
Adult
Child
Education, Medical, Graduate
Employment
Fellowships and Scholarships
Humans
Infant, Newborn
Internship and Residency*
Middle Aged
Surgeons*
Surveys and Questionnaires