Corporate
A NEW ERA The 37th EACTS Annual Meeting marked a new era for EACTS as renowned thoracic surgeon Franca Melfi became the first female President of EACTS.
Franca Melfi is Professor of Thoracic Surgery at the Medical School of the University of Pisa and Chair of the University’s Robotic Multidisciplinary Centre for Surgery – Thoracic MIS and Robotic Surgery and a pioneer in the field of robotic surgery. She performed the first robotic procedure in the world for the treatment of lung cancer in 2001. It is a real honour and privilege to be the President of EACTS, particularly when I consider that I became a member in 1999 and at that time I didn’t expect to have this great honour! Many years have passed and EACTS continues to maintain its status as an extremely valuable and prestigious scientific Association. Why do I say prestigious – because it is the most representative cardiothoracic Association worldwide with the mission to promote research and education that interacts strongly with other world-class sister Associations. In addition, EACTS stands out from other surgical societies because it represents the most important thoracic surgical specialties, cardiac, thoracic and vascular. This is very important to me and one of the reasons why I joined EACTS. I spent two years in cardiac surgery as part of my residency and experienced first-hand the value of learning from other disciplines and the importance of establishing good relationships between specialties to achieve good clinical outcomes for patients. The functions of the heart and lungs are so closely intertwined that it is hugely beneficial to share knowledge and skills across disciplines. EACTS provides the platform for the whole cardiothoracic community – not just cardiac or thoracic – but both and this I believe, is one of the Association’s great strengths. This is an important message which, in my role as President, I want to reinforce across the cardiothoracic community, and particularly amongst thoracic surgeons. I am enthusiastic about the excellent work done by all the domains and committees. As a thoracic surgeon, I am thrilled by the work achieved by the Thoracic Disease Domain to strengthen our offer to thoracic surgeons and promote EACTS membership. New task forces have been introduced in recent months including 2
the Thoracic Robotics Task Force, and we will continue to establish additional task forces to ensure we are addressing the changing face of thoracic surgery. The home of innovation EACTS is already instrumental in supporting innovation and technological advancement in cardiothoracic surgery. This implies constant updating, which means new challenges, ongoing research, and training. Today we are increasingly talking about digital surgery that can promote a sort of democratisation of surgery and in some way impact care and gender equality. In this context, I believe that EACTS is the place in which innovation, education and quality of care should grow and spread globally. During my tenure as President, I want to cement the Association’s reputation as the home of innovation, exploring aspects including Big Data, AI, 3D reconstructive surgery and robotic surgery. Growing our relationships with industry can help us meet these goals, and in particular support surgeons early in their careers. Digitalisation and innovation are not only critical to improving outcomes for patients but can also have a role in achieving greater gender equality across cardiothoracic surgery. As we continue to drive forward our innovation agenda it is also important to explore the positive impact of digitalisation for female surgeons in areas such as training and opportunities for telementoring. I remain committed to empowering female surgeons and supporting the work of the Women in Cardiothoracic Surgery Committee. We must do more to attract female medical students into cardiothoracic surgery. More than sixty per cent of medical students are women but only a small percentage are choosing a career in cardiothoracic surgery. In my role as President, I want to increase mentorship opportunities and provide more role models for female medical students to spread a positive message that will inspire the next generation of female surgeons. In summary, I have four key goals for the year ahead: 1) reinforce EACTS as the home of innovation and technological progress and strengthen EACTS’ relationship with industry 2) increase the role of the EACTS Academy which is so important for members 3) support female leadership roles 4) promote EACTS membership – and particularly membership for thoracic surgeons