key: cord-0044719-ccsr8lab
authors: Fiedler, Amy G.
title: We are great when we collaborate
date: 2020-06-05
journal: Ann Thorac Surg
DOI: 10.1016/j.athoracsur.2020.05.018
sha: 48d013c96e524287a22c1973dbf92096c38c0d41
doc_id: 44719
cord_uid: ccsr8lab

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We are great when we collaborate

We thank Luc and Antonoff (1) for their thoughtful reply to our manuscript (2) . The true silver lining of COVID-19 is the rapid realization that much of what has become dogmatic in cardiothoracic surgical training has been uprooted and re-defined during this unprecedented time period. The pandemic has required that we as surgeons and educators step back and take a thoughtful look and approach to how we are training our trainees, both from a fund of knowledge and technical standpoint.

Previous reliance on spending hours on the wards and in the operating room have become challenging in many training programs as a result of COVID-19. This has pushed our trainees into realizing the utility of the multiple online platforms that are available to them as described to which our trainees are exposed. Additionally, an added bonus of these experiences is the ability of our trainees to "virtually meet" each other across the country, providing important networking opportunities which will only enhance their careers moving forward.

The vision of the Thoracic Educational Cooperative Group (TECoG) is that with multiinstitutional collaborative efforts we can accomplish more, and the critical importance of this type of educational strategy has never been more important. We agree with TECoG, Luc, and Anfonoff: through every storm there is a silver lining. COVID-19 has shown us that as a specialty we can be stronger and more impactful with our educational efforts through collaborative efforts built out of necessity in the setting of a global pandemic. The ability to bridge geography, institutional boundaries, and previously held surgical educational dogma is now. 

Necessity is the mother of innovation -the time to collaborate is now

Cardiothoracic Education in the Time of COVID-19: How I Teach It