JACC FIT/Early Career Page: Surgical Training in an Era of Change and Innovation

In the face of endovascular transformation, trainees may need to learn to interpret and predict changes in the landscape of cardiology and cardiovascular surgery to set the "right" career course, according to an FIT/Early Career Page published Aug. 5 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Jason J. Han, MD, et al., elaborate upon the current paradigm shift in cardiovascular surgery and provide strategies on how trainees can effectively adapt to these changes. They note that as trainees, being in the state of transition within a transition can be disorienting and anxiety-provoking, perhaps due to the fear of being wrong or left behind. In a response to the column, Michael J. Mack, MD, FACC, comments that you cannot worry about choosing the wrong career path or succumbing to the fear that you will be left behind. "Embrace what you love to do and be cognizant of the changes in the ecosystem in which you work," he writes. "Learn to lead change, embrace that which is currently good, have the vision to determine what needs to change and have the wisdom to know the difference."

Keywords: Highlights From JACC and Cardiology