Current Status of Training and Certification for Congenital Heart Surgery Around the World: Proceedings of the Meetings of the Global Council on Education for Congenital Heart Surgery of the World Society for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery

Abstract

The optimal training of the highly specialized congenital heart surgeon is a long and complex process, which is a significant challenge in most parts of the world. The World Society for Pediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery (WSPCHS) has established the Global Council on Education for Congenital Heart Surgery as a nonprofit organization with the goal of assessing current training and certification and ultimately establishing standardized criteria for the training, evaluation, and certification of congenital heart surgeons around the world. The Global Council and the WSPCHS have reviewed the present status of training and certification for congenital cardiac surgery around the world. There is currently lack of consensus and standardized criteria for training in congenital heart surgery, with significant disparity between continents and countries. This represents significant obstacles to international job mobility of competent congenital heart surgeons and to the efforts to improve the quality of care for patients with Congenital Heart Disease worldwide. The purpose of this article is to summarize and document the present state of training and certification in congenital heart surgery around the world.

Becoming a congenital heart surgeon: the long and challenging road

“…Although effective, this training was not protocolled nor provided consistent documentation of the basic elements of understanding and performance necessary for clinical practice. This practice still continues in Latin America, Africa and Asia [ 2 ]. In modern congenital programmes, surgeons must pass a standardized examination and are required to perform a set number of surgeries as the primary operator, to be accredited by their national medical council at the conclusion of their fellowship.…”

“…Despite the growth of congenital cardiac surgery worldwide, it is still not a recognized speciality in the majority of European countries. Consequently, associations like the World Society of Paediatric and Congenital Heart Surgery are striving towards clarifying training pathways and standardizing fellowships to assist the surgeon mobility between developed and developing countries [ 2 ].…”

Congenital Heart Surgery Skill Training Using Simulation Models: Not an Option but a Necessity

“…There is a lack of consensus of the training sequence required before entering the CHS training program including the duration of training and the minimum number of operative cases for certification. 6 11 12 13 14 The duration of postgraduate training required to become a congenital heart surgeon varies among countries and ranges between 6–18 years with a median of 10 years. 6 15 The median age of graduation of CHS fellow to certified surgeons was unacceptably high at 40 in the USA.…”

Entrustable Professional Activities and Their Relevance to Pediatric Cardiology Training

“…Congenital cardiothoracic surgery requires an extremely high level of technical expertise and it is understood that training and mentorship continue for our surgical counterparts following completion of formal training in order to excel professionally [ 39 ]. For example, few surgical trainees would be entrusted to perform a complex surgical procedure independently within the first year following completion of training.…”