- ACGME Residency and Fellowship
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Class of 2023 (left to right): Navid Ajabshir MD; Laura M. Seese, MD, MS; Tak Ogami, MD; Kyla D. Joubert, MD, MPH; Chigozirim Ekeke, MD; Irsa Hasan, MD; Kojo Dadzie, MD; Led by Vice Chair of Education Dr. Pyongsoo D. Yoon, Program Director Dr. David J. Kaczorowski, and Associate Program Director Dr. Matthew J. Schuchert, our ACGME Cardiothoracic Surgery Residency and Fellowship is an integral part of our Departmental mission. Our overarching goal is to train the next generation of cardiothoracic surgeon leaders to advance the field through clinical excellence, commitment to scholarship, production of high-impact scientific research, and service to our communities.
The ACGME-accredited Integrated Cardiothoracic Surgery Residency is a clinical six-year program with two to three non-clinical years of protected research time for highly qualified candidates entering training directly out of medical school. The program matches 2 candidates annually, with a total complement of 12 clinical residents. The PGY1-3 curriculum includes half core general surgery rotations and half cardiothoracic surgery rotations, including apprenticeshi- style rotations at UPMC Hamot (2 hours north of Pittsburgh with program-provided housing for trainees and family members), UPMC Passavant, and the Veteran's Affairs Pittsburgh Health System Oakland campus hospital. The PGY4-6 curriculum is comprised of solely cardiothoracic surgery rotations, with protected time for clinical elective experiences.
The ACGME-accredited Independent Cardiothoracic Surgery Fellowship is a clinical two-year program available to trainees who have successfully completed an ACGME-accredited or equivalent General Surgery Program. The program matches 2 fellows annually and provides complete immersion into cardiothoracic surgery clinical practice. The training curriculum consists of rotations in adult cardiac surgery at UPMC Presbyterian, thoracic surgery at UPMC Shadyside, UPMC Passavant, and UPMC Mercy, and congenital cardiac surgery at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.
The Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery is ACGME sanctioned to offer a 4+3 training pathway for competitive applicants.
For more information, please contact CTSurgeryMedicalEducation@upmc.edu.
- Congenital Cardiac Surgery Fellowship
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Congenital cardiac surgery fellow Dr. Laura M. Seese and Dr. Victor O. Morell repair an arterial congenital defect. Led by Program Director Dr. Victor O. Morell and Associate Program Director Dr. Melita Viegas, the ACGME-Accredited Congenital Cardiac Surgery Fellowship matched its first fellow to begin training in the 2023-2024 academic year. This two-year program matches 1 congenital fellow every two-year cycle. For more information, please contact GME Academic Manager Patricia Fluhrer, MA.
- Protected Research Time and Advanced Degree Pursuit
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Integrated Cardiac Track PGY4 Resident, Nicholas Hess, MD, MS, presents our work on donation-after-cardiac death heart transplantation in the plenary session at the 103rd Meeting of the American Association for Thoracic Surgeons. May 2023. Los Angeles, California. Our program is fiercely committed to providing ample and diverse supported opportunities to all of our trainees to pursue academia and scholarship.
In 2021, the Department was awarded a prestigious T32 training program grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. The Principal Investigator is James D. Luketich, MD alongside Co-Principal Investigators Julie A. Phillippi, PhD and David A. Vorp, PhD. Through this T32 award, Integrated Cardiothoracic Surgery Residents are supported with regard to research supplies, training, conference attendance, and salary. Each program appointee will work closely with a selected team of T32 faculty mentors from our Department and other partnering UPSOM Departments. For more detailed information please visit our NHLBI T32 Training Grant Page.
Many trainees have utilized protected research time to focus on clinical outcomes research. This has resulted in over 100 podium presentations by Integrated residents in the past five years at major national cardiothoracic surgery meetings, making our group one of the most academically productive in the country.
The Integrated Cardiothoracic Surgery Residency Program encourages interested trainees to pursue advanced degrees during their research time. UPMC provides $6,000 per semester of tuition reimbursement to trainees as UPMC employees, and the Department provides financial support when able for tuition. Past trainees have also been awarded NIH F32 awards to support these tuition costs. Our Integrated residents have pursued a variety of degrees during their research time (which typically takes place between years PGY3 and PGY4 of clinical training), including Master of Science (MS), Master of Public Health (MPH), and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees.
- Simulation Curriculum
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Coming soon!
- Regional Mock Oral Board Curriculum
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Coming soon!
- Trainee Wellness Program
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Beloved educator and cardiac surgeon Dr. Pyongsoo D. Yoon at a national meeting with past and present trainees. Top left to right: Jake Brown, MS, MD (Integrated Resident, Cardiac Track,), Navid Ajabshir, MD (Alumni and Faculty), Garrett N. Coyan, MD, MS (Alumni), Chigozirim Ekeke, MD (Alumni), Patrick G. Chan, MD, MPH (Alumni), Faaz Ashraf, MD (Integrated Resident, Cardiac Track), Ernest G. Chan, MD, MPH (Integrated, Thoracic Track), Mahnoor Imran, MD (Integrated, Cardiac Track), Sarah Yousef, MD (Integrated, Cardiac Track), Dr. Yoon, Kyla D. Joubert, MD, MPH (Alumni), and Rachel L. Deitz, MD, MPH (Integrated Resident, Thoracic Track).