Diversity and Inclusion in Cardiothoracic Surgery

Filmed at the 2018 STS Annual Meeting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Ourania Preventza of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, moderates a discussion on diversity and inclusion in cardiothoracic surgery. Dr Preventza is joined by Robert Higgins of John Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, Jessica Donington of the University of Chicago in Illinois, and Anthony Estrera of McGovern Medical School in Houston, Texas. The group builds on topics from the Diversity and Inclusion Session of the 2018 STS Annual Meeting, and through their conversation the panelists emphasize that diversity and inclusion is a critical component of maintaining the highest standards of excellency for the specialty and for patients. The panel defines diversity and discusses the benefits that inclusion brings to cardiothoracic surgery. They also emphasize the importance of sponsorship and leadership opportunities in one’s career, and they discuss unconcious bias and approaches to combat it.