Approaching the end of my cardiothoracic surgery residency, I felt the need to share with colleagues, young residents, and the cardiothoracic community in general some thoughts that have been ringing in my mind as I face the theater of the surgical world.

Five years ago at the beginning of my training, I had the chance to learn both the more traditional aspects of cardiac surgery and the actual routine of it, first observing the older surgeons performing coronary artery bypass graft procedures on pump and with vein graft, then learning from the younger surgeons using challenging, new beating-heart techniques with arterial grafts and minimally invasive procedures. My last 2 years of residency have been in the United States, where I have spent most of my time trying to . . . [Full Text of this Article]