American Association for Thoracic Surgery Summer Intern Scholarship-Over a decade of experience

Objective: The study objective was to evaluate the experience of previous American Association for Thoracic Surgery Summer Intern Scholarship recipients.

Methods: A database of recipients of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery Summer Intern Scholarship in Cardiothoracic Surgery provided by the American Association for Thoracic Surgery was analyzed. A questionnaire was sent via email to recipients with 10 questions within the survey to assess the types of exposure during the internship, the impact of the internship on career choices, the current career setting, and any additional thoughts regarding the internship.

Results: Between 2007 and 2017, there were 356 awardees of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery Summer Intern Scholarship. These awardees were from 41 different medical schools and went to 39 different sponsoring institutions. Ultimately, 55 (15.5%) medical students chose a career in cardiothoracic surgery, with 153 (43.0%) awardees deciding to pursue a surgical subspecialty. Of those who received our survey, 75 awardees responded (29.2%). A majority of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery Summer Interns were exposed to the sponsoring surgeon (98.7%, n = 74) and operating room (88.0%, n = 66) on at least a weekly basis during the 8-week internship. All of the respondents participated in basic science or clinical research at their sponsoring institution. Some 92.0% (n = 69) of the awardees highly recommended this scholarship to medical students interested in cardiothoracic surgery.

Conclusions: The awardees of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery Summer Intern Scholarship come from a variety of medical schools and visited a diverse group of sponsoring institutions. The 8-week program provides valuable early exposure for medical students to cardiothoracic surgeons, the operating room, and research opportunities. This experience was highly recommended by prior recipients to medical students interested in cardiothoracic surgery.