Education & Training

Curriculum

The first year consists of six months on the thoracic service and six months on the cardiac service. At the end of the first year, the fellow may choose whether to focus on cardiac or thoracic surgery. The thoracic track fellow would spend the second year on the thoracic service, with a short rotation at UH Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital, while the cardiac track fellow would spend the entire year on the cardiac service, split between UH Rainbow, UH Cleveland Medical Center and the VA hospital.

Ample opportunity exists for clinical research. Funding and time is available for travel to the annual Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) and American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS) meetings.

Didactic/Conference Schedule

Interview Dates

• The Cardiothoracic Fellowship Program will not be participating in the 2026-27 AY interview session, as we have a fellowship candidate identified.

Cardiothoracic Surgery Residency Program Aims

• The educational mission of our Cardiothoracic Surgery Residency Program is to train surgeons who are Board eligible for the American Board of Surgery to function as thoracic and cardiovascular surgeons at the highest level of performance expected of a certified specialist.
• To train residents as leaders in the following minimally invasive fields in which our medical center excels, including:
  
  • Transcatheter valve replacement
  • VATS lung resection
  • Curative therapy of high-risk lung cancer patients, including those in the very elderly and in those patients with severe COPD.
  • Advanced bronchoscopic diagnostic and intervention techniques
  • Ablative therapies for lung cancer
  • Surgical treatment of heart failure
  • Advanced experience in reoperative coronary surgery
• To provide a balanced training experience including training in congenital heart surgery, adult cardiac surgery, thoracic surgery and oncology, esophageal surgery, endoscopic techniques and transcatheter technologies
• To provide a foundation for clinical investigation
• To provide a training experience balanced in outpatient and inpatient experience, comprehensive in preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative training
• To train a complete cardiothoracic surgeon, aware of societal and economic factors, cognizant of patient and family wishes and needs, who is able to meld his broad training in medical diseases with excellent surgical skill in order to deliver optimal, efficient and durable care