Background: The past two decades have seen increasingly rapid advances in new surgical techniques and procedures in thoracic surgery. One of the greatest challenges is to educate and train thoracic surgeons in a safe and patient-free environment. The content of surgical training and education differs significantly
among European countries. A common European training and certification structure might provide better opportunities to educate competent thoracic surgeons in the future. The objective of this article is to summarize the current state of educational programs and certification within thoracic surgery in Europe.
Methods: A comprehensive search of the literature was performed, using PubMed Database, Medline, Cochrane and Google Scholar from May 2000 until June 2023, focusing on thoracic surgery education and training, thoracic surgery education and certification in Europe, certification, and training of general thoracic surgeons in Europe, and Canadian and American training and certification in thoracic surgery.
Results: A total of 560 articles were retrieved from PubMed/Medline, Google Scholar, and Cochrane.
After removing the duplicates, 365 articles were scanned based on their title and abstract. Three hundred and twelve articles did not meet the inclusion criteria for this study. Fifty-three full text articles were assessed for eligibility and a total of 25 articles were selected for this study. In addition, we must accept the adopt
advances in thoracic surgery and evolve the modern training program in thoracic surgery. There is a need for revision and refining of thoracic surgeon’s curricula across Europe. By harmonizing the training programs and certification in Thoracic Surgery across Europe, we provide competent thoracic surgeons with an equalized and better patient outcome.
Conclusions: There is a need for a structured and evidence-based surgical curriculum, which includes simulation training to provide competent surgeons in Europe. Certification and examination boards with hands-on courses may ensure the quality of knowledge and help trainees gain basic and advanced surgical
skills.