Educational Backgrounds and Quality of Training of Surgeons Performing Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Procedures in the State of Florida in 2010

Abstract

Quality of care is in part a result of the medical education practitioners receive. To date, little research has been conducted to assess the relationship between type, quantity, and quality of postgraduate residency and fellowship training and patient outcomes. This article explores the relationship of physician training and certification and surgical outcomes of patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting procedures in Florida during 2010. The data set includes 246 surgeons who, as a group, trained at nearly 48% of all thoracic surgery residency programs in the country. There were significant differences in board certifications for general surgery and thoracic surgery among physicians in different quality segmentations. Additionally, statistically significant differences were observed for mortality as a percentage of surgical volume as well as length of stay. These differences in characteristics and outcomes among segmentations of physicians warrant future exploration to identify underlying contributors to quality.