The TSRA Clinical Scenarios in Cardiothoracic Surgery app strives to enhance surgical education by providing an aggregation of common surgical problems in general thoracic, adult cardiac, and congenital cardiac surgery. Users are given a typical clinical presentation with associated options for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, followed by a series of “what if” scenarios that might influence the approach to the patient’s clinical state.
Users encouraged to take notes on each topic, and they can be stored on the device for future reference. Notes can be shared with every user of the app through the “Community Notes” section, and other users can comment on shared notes. TSRA hopes to make this a “living document” and encourage a dialogue among the users to enhance the understanding of complex surgical issues. Specific notes and comments regarding the oral ABTS examination, however, are prohibited and not endorsed by the TSRA. Users are also encouraged to rate the quality of each chapter as well as mark specific chapters as “Favorites.”
The Thoracic Surgery Residents Association (TSRA) represents the interests of all residents in training in cardiothoracic surgery in North America. TSRA works with the Thoracic Surgery Directors Association (TSDA) to improve the quality of thoracic surgical education, keeping that training abreast of changes within the field, and assisting in creative solutions for educational problems.
TSRA resources are provided as a basic guideline for the study of cardiothoracic surgery and should be used in conjunction with a variety of other educational references and resources. TSRA resources should not be construed as definitive study guides for either the TSDA In-Training Exam or the ABTS Certification Exam. TSRA makes no claims regarding the study guide’s value in preparing for, or its contribution toward performance on, either the TSDA In-Training Exam or the ABTS Certification Exam. TSRA resources are educational tools only, and any medical decisions should be after discussions with appropriate healthcare providers.