This innovative approach will combine an educational portion developed and produced by the professional societies with a practicum followed by on-site proctoring. Following observation of new procedures at designated teaching centers, a physician will then be supervised performing the new procedure in his or her own hospital and operating room team environment. T he American Medical Foundation for Peer Review and Education is the national leader in the independent review of physician and specialty services for over 1000 US hospitals. It was founded in 1913 to improve the quality of care for the surgical patient by setting high standards for surgical education and practice. It is the largest association of surgeons in the world.
Thoracic surgeons treat diseases involving the heart, lungs, espohagus and chest wall.
They replace and repair heart valves, perform coronary bypass surgery, transplant heart and lungs and remove of esophageal and pulmonary cancer. The two societies have a combined membership of approximately 3,500 members and are both international organizations working closely together. The mission of the College is to support, to foster optimal cardiovascular care and disease prevention through professional education, promotion of research, leadership in the development of standards and guidelines and the formulation of health care policy. The 1800 members are individuals who have made major contributions to the field of general vascular surgery in the clinical, educational, and research areas. This is a huge problem that transcends any one specialty.