CTSNet Resident Video Competition
The CTSNet Resident Video Competition highlights the skill, creativity, and innovation of residents in their respective cardiothoracic surgical specialties from around the globe. This competition is open to all surgical trainees and residents. All qualifying entries will be featured on CTSNet.org and given the opportunity to compete for the top prize—all in pursuit of learning and optimizing patient care.
Submitted videos demonstrate skills and thought leadership from early-career professionals and share knowledge with the wider cardiothoracic surgery community. They also enhance the CTSNet library of resident video learning resources. All surgical trainees and residents are eligible to enter and compete for the US $1,000 first-place prize.
Submissions Are Now Open!
Entries for the 12th Annual CTSNet Resident Video Competition will close on January 8, 2026.
Under Submission Type, please select “Resident Video Competition” in the Description field.
For more information on the competition and how to enter, see the sections below:
ELIGIBILITY
The competition is open to all surgical trainees and residents.
COMPETITION GUIDELINES
• Only one submission per entrant will be accepted.
• Submitted video guidelines include the following:
▸Videos can be any length
▸All videos must adhere to all established guidelines for patient safety.
• Videos may or may not demonstrate a clinical case; content on surgical solutions at preclinical and therapeutic stages of development will also be considered.
• To meet the CTSNet first authorship requirement, the entrant must have created and/or edited the videos and serve as the video’s narrator.
• The submission must adhere to CTSNet standard submission guidelines.
BENEFITS AND PRIZES
1st place winner:
• US $1,000 monetary prize
• Publication of your video on CTSNet.org
• Altmetric badging for citation and CV purposes
• Featured in announcement of competition results on CTSNet.org, CTSNet social media channels, and in Pulse e-newsletter
• Exclusive video interview about your winning video published on CTSNet.org
2nd and 3rd place winners:
• Publication of your video on CTSNet.org
• Altmetric badging for citation and CV purposes
• Featured in announcement of competition results on CTSNet.org, CTSNet social media channels, and in Pulse e-newsletter
All qualifying entries:
• Publication of video on CTSNet.org
• Altmetric badging for citation and CV purposes
JUDGING CRITERIA
To evaluate the quality of video submissions, a panel of distinguished cardiothoracic surgeons and clinical care professionals and CTSNet editors will serve as judges.
Videos will be judged using the following criteria:
• Quality: The video is of high quality, both in terms of surgery footage (if applicable) as well as presentation (graphics, narration, etc.).
• Originality: The video is unique in terms of topic, technique, and/or presentation.
• Contribution to the Specialty: This video contributes significantly to the advancement of the specialty, its educational resources, and/or its discourse.
SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS
Applicants must use the CTSNet content submission form to enter videos into the competition. Under Submission Type, please select “Resident Video Competition.” This ensures that the submission is considered for the competition.
Previous Competition Award Winners
11th Annual CTSNet Resident Award Video Competition (2025)
By Karan Shekar, Raghu Maruti Govindappa
By Fabian Seeber, Roland Mair, Gregor Gierlinger, Eva Sames-Dolzer, Michaela Kreuzer, Rudolf Mair
By Jason Breithaupt, Branson Taheri, Chase Corvin, Rafael Malgor, T. Brett Reece, Muhammad Aftab