Fourteen Years following the Discussion about Training a Certified General Thoracic Surgeon

Abstract

Introduction: In Cuba, there are numerous surgeons who have dedicated a large part of their professional life to noncardiovascular thoracic surgery, but they only hold the title of first- or second-degree specialist in General Surgery.

Objective: To present the fundamentals demonstrating the need to create and implement the first-degree residence for general thoracic surgery or a master's degree in thoracic surgery.

Methods: A document search was carried out using the scientific information search engines Google Scholar and Highwire Press. From the Web of Science, PubMed, Lilacs and Scopus, 23 articles directly related to the proposed objective were selected.

Development: In 2008, Professor Benito Saínz Menéndez published an article in which he presented the need to create a postgraduate curriculum for general thoracic surgery; however, after 14 years, the debate on this subject is still ongoing. In this respect, the claims of the Cuban surgical community concerning the proposal of a master's program and a doctoral dissertation have been felt in several academic meetings, as well as in several publications. The new request is justified from different points of view.

Conclusion: Through the development of postgraduate education and the need to train skilled human resources in general surgery, enough principles have been accumulated for requesting that thoracic surgery be taught as a subspecialty, or the insertion of a master's degree on this subject. The assessment is recommended for the possibility of creating and implementing a specialization or a master's degree in noncardiovascular thoracic surgery.