The importance of mentorship and sponsorship for thoracic surgery residency applicants during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic

Do‐Nguyen, Chi Chi; Hong, Jonathan; Luc, Jessica G.Y.

doi:10.1016/j.jtcvs.2020.08.064

Cited by 7 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Previous authors have encouraged faculty and cardiothoracic trainees to engage and involve medical students virtually during this pandemic, with strategies such as virtual program visits, engaging in digital communications, sharing remote didactics, and expanding the reach of educational programs. 37 , 38 However, it is clear that in cardiothoracic surgery, where critical dialogue centers around the importance of exposure, networking, and sponsorship of women and other underrepresented minorities, our social media activities must take this into account. 39 , 40 , 41 As program directors and educators, we can control the perceived face of our profession and of our individual training programs by ensuring that the outward-facing digital identity of our training programs reflects the pool of talent and diversity of the faculty, trainees, and workforce members at our given institutions.…”

Section: Innovative Methods Of Showcasing Your Program: It’s About the Entire Year Not Just A Daymentioning

confidence: 99%

Showcasing Your Cardiothoracic Training Program in the Virtual Era

Nelson

White

Rajaram

et al. 2021

The Annals of Thoracic Surgery

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Section: Innovative Methods Of Showcasing Your Program: It’s About the Entire Year Not Just A Daymentioning

confidence: 99%

Showcasing Your Cardiothoracic Training Program in the Virtual Era

Nelson

White

Rajaram

et al. 2021

The Annals of Thoracic Surgery

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“…In 2020, this shifting landscape was unexpectedly thrust into greater upheaval with the emergence of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Global in scope and broader in impact than any previous natural disaster, the greatest effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on undergraduate medical education was the widespread shift to virtual interactions and temporary removal of medical students from hospitals in 2020 1-7 . As the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) recommended, traditional in-person residency candidate interviews were suspended in favor of virtual interviews in the 2020/2021 cycle.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Virtual Interviews in the Era of COVID-19

et al. 2021

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Background: Orthopaedic surgery residency program directors (PDs) and candidates consider interviews to be central to the application process. In-person interviews are typical, but virtual interviews present a potentially appealing alternative. Candidate and PD expectations and perceptions of virtual interviews during the 2020/2021 orthopaedic surgery application cycle were assessed. Methods: Candidates and PDs were surveyed electronically. Questions covered pre–virtual-interview and post–virtual-interview expectations and perceptions, and past in-person experiences (PDs and reapplicants) on the relative importance of application components, ability to assess fit, interview costs, and preferred interview mode. Identical questions allowed between-group comparisons. Results: Responses included n = 29 PDs and n = 99 candidates. PDs reported diminished ability to assess candidate fit; social, clinical, and surgical skills; and genuine interest in the virtual context (each p ≤ 0.01). They placed greater importance on research and less on the interview in the virtual vs. in-person context (each p = 0.02). Most candidates (78%) reported fair/good ability to demonstrate potential and were better able to assess research opportunities than expected (p < 0.01). Candidates expected virtual interviews to increase the importance of research, transcripts, and recommendations (for each, p ≤ 0.02) and decrease the importance of the interview itself (p < 0.01). Compared with PDs, candidates overvalued research, United States Medical Licensing Examination scores, transcripts, and recommendations (each p ≤ 0.02) and may have slightly undervalued the virtual interview (p = 0.08). Most candidates (81%) and PDs (79%) preferred in-person interviews, despite both groups reporting monetary savings. Conclusions: Despite cost savings associated with virtual interviews, orthopaedic surgery residency PDs and candidates identified reduced abilities to assess candidate or program fit and displayed a preference for in-person interviews.

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“…This is consistent with what has been previously shown regarding the importance of role modeling, mentorship, and sponsorship in ensuring that our field remains attractive to the best and brightest future surgeons. 22,[32][33][34] The importance of equitable opportunities for leadership advancement and changing the existing culture should be a priority in our specialty, requiring dedicated efforts and leadership from clinical researchers at the institutional and national levels. In addition, this effort requires industry to prioritize diversity and inclusion in clinical trial leadership.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex Representation Among Principal Investigators in Cardiac Surgery Clinical Trials in the United States

Nguyen

Luc

Lawton³

et al. 2021

Annals of Surgery

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The aim of this study was to determine the sex representation among principal investigators (PIs) in US cardiac surgery clinical trials. Summary Background Data: Being a principal investigator in a US clinical trial confers national recognition among peers. Sex representation among principal investigators (PIs) in US cardiac surgery clinical trials has not been evaluated. Methods: We evaluated 124 US cardiac surgery trials registered on Clin-icalTrials.gov from 2014 to 2019. Sixty trials included PIs (n = 266) from 128 institutions that had a combined total of 1040 adult cardiac surgeons. We examined sex representation among junior-level (instructor or assistant professor) and senior-level (associate, full, or Emeritus professor) PIs by calculating the participation-to-prevalence ratio (PPR), whereby a PPR range of 0.8 to 1.2 reflects equitable representation. Results: The pool representation percentage was 6.1% (63/1040) for women and 93.9% (977/1040) for men. A total of 266 PI positions were assigned to adult cardiac surgeons: 6 (9.5%; PPR = 0.37) from the female pool and 260 (26.6%; PPR = 1.04) from the male pool (P = 0.004). The percentage of PIs with studies funded by industry was 9.5% ofthe female pool (PPR = 0.39) and 25.0% of the male pool (PPR = 1.04) (P = 0.009). No National Institutes of Health-funded or other funded trials had female PIs. An overall trend was observed toward disproportionally more men than women among PIs, especially at the senior level (P = 0.027). Conclusions: Equitable opportunities for PI positions are available for junior-level but not senior-level cardiothoracic surgeons. These results suggest a need for active engagement and promotion of equal opportunities in cardiac surgery.

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The importance of mentorship and sponsorship for thoracic surgery residency applicants during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic

Cited by 7 publications

References 5 publications

Showcasing Your Cardiothoracic Training Program in the Virtual Era

Showcasing Your Cardiothoracic Training Program in the Virtual Era

Virtual Interviews in the Era of COVID-19

Sex Representation Among Principal Investigators in Cardiac Surgery Clinical Trials in the United States

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