 Hi, I'm Akasha. I'm one of the integrated thoracic residents at the University of Maryland Medical Center. I'm just completed my third year in clinical training and I'm transitioning into my research years now. So I started as a medical student at this hospital and during my rotations here and elsewhere it quickly became apparent to me that this was the place I wanted to train. You know, not only do you get a great exposure to cases in the operating room and an early operative experience, but you form a great relationship with the other residents as well as the attendings. In terms of the exposure on the operative side, Dr. Gamie is an expert in mitral valve repair. Dr. Dawood does quite a bit of arrhythmia operations as well as tavers. Dr. Griffith, Dr. Kazarowski and Dr. Matathil are all transplanters and do mechanical circulatory support devices, particularly so minimally invasive implantation of alvads. Dr. Taylor and Dr. Greshy, they lead our aortic program and are doing some really exciting things, particularly with ascending and aortic arch endovascular therapies. And they also do coronary vascularization. So, you know, we're not missing out on that either. And then Dr. Koshil and Dr. Dietrich are congenital surgeons. So when you're on the cardiac side, you're paired with, you know, these individual super subspecialists, and it's more of a mentorship type model. On the thoracic side, Dr. Friedberg is an expert in mesothelioma, and he also frequently operates on large thoracic tumors. You know, I don't think there's anyone who's a more patient teacher or loves teaching more than Dr. Burrows, and he does quite a wide breadth of general thoracic cases. Dr. Law and Dr. Kropnik have a particular interest in lung transplantation. And then Dr. Stewart and Dr. Henry are both minimally invasive and robotic surgeons. And Dr. Kraus, who just joined and, you know, finished training in our program, is following in their footsteps. So you get to work with these really extraordinary surgeons, and, you know, they not only teach you how to do these cases, but they let you do them. And because you're working so closely with them, you get to know them well and develop a great relationship with them. You know, I think they really do become your greatest advocates, and enjoy watching you progress and succeed. In terms of the research experience at Maryland, there are a number of R01 grants that both in the cardiac and the thoracic divisions. Dr. Griffith particularly focuses on mechanical circulatory device development. Dr. Gamme works on minimally invasive device development, as well as novel mitral valve repair techniques. Dr. Koshel works on stem cell therapies. Dr. Law and Dr. Kropnik focus on lung transplantation research, and Dr. Friedberg works on mesothelioma research, as well as development of lung-related therapeutic devices. And, you know, aside from that, all of our faculty are really involved in a wide breadth of clinical projects. So as a resident here, you really have the opportunity to get involved with pretty much anything you want. Aside from the cardiothoracic experience, I think one of the really great strengths of our program is that you get to participate in these ancillary rotations. Just to name a few, we get to rotate with the interventional pulmonologists, the heart failure team, the echocardiography team, and as well as the interventional cardiologists teaches you how to do heart cats. So I think all of that makes you a pretty well-rounded and overall a better physician. You know, the camaraderie amongst the residents at this program is one of the main reasons that I chose to come here. Become really a tight-knit group as you work with these residents over the course of several years. And, you know, cardiothoracic surgeries are a pretty demanding training program. So, you know, having people that are around willing to help you, willing to learn from each other, I think really helps you get through it. During my time here, you know, the residents that I've worked with have become some of my closest friends. We go get lunch together. We hang out outside of the hospital and even go to each other's weddings. So I think, in my opinion, that's probably the best part about this training program. I'm Sheila Pousatis. I'm one of the sixth-year integrated cardiothoracic surgery residents here at University of Maryland. And I've really enjoyed my residency training. I think that we have a unique program because our clinical volume and the amount of independence that you'll attain throughout your residency is just completely unique. You'll do cases skin-to-skin. You'll have a wide variety of cases. We do everything from complex aortic work, both open and endovascular, close work with our vascular colleagues for those aortic patients, close work with our interventional cardiologists to work with TAVR and MitraClip. We do many, many mitral valve repairs here at this institution more than you'll see anywhere else. And you'll actually be the one who gets to do the cutting and the sewing. We have tons of other adult cardiac surgery, cabbages, valves. So you'll have the full breath of cardiac surgery and you'll really get to be the one in the driver's seat. Our thoracic experience is also fantastic. You'll do many esophagectomies, parasophageal hernia repairs. You'll use minimally invasive techniques as well as open techniques. And the faculty are one of the, you know, shining stars here at University of Maryland. They're fantastic teachers. They love what they do. That's why they work here. And, you know, they don't mind if the case takes a little bit longer or is more work for them because they want you to get the learning experience. And they really enjoy seeing you progress throughout the years. So besides just, you know, our huge clinical volume, we have a very diverse patient population. And we not only learn from our faculty, but we learn from each other as residents. One of the things I remember when I was an intern was learning how to put people on ECMO from my fellow residents. And it was like a rite of passage. You know, my first day working at this hospital, they called me. I wasn't even on the cardiac service and they invited me to participate in an ECMO cannulation. And I just remembered that and it always stuck with me from the beginning that they cared enough to involve me in things like that right from the start. We do both vino-vino ECMO as well as vino arterial ECMO and we do hundreds of them every year. And we've been participating in putting COVID patients on ECMO, of course, and for all of the other indications for cardiogenic shock and ARDS. We have a fantastic research program here. Whether you're in the lab or you're doing research during your clinical years, there are endless opportunities and the faculty are so supportive. And the last thing is that as a resident cohort, we really support each other. Everyone wants their co-residents to shine and to be happy and balanced people. And so we're not only friends, but, you know, colleagues who support each other and really do delight in each other, succeeding both in the OR and in life. You're welcome to ask any of the residents about this. You know, everyone would feel the same way. No one's going to say that there's anything different. But you won't get a clinical experience anywhere else like you get here at University of Maryland. There's just so many patients. They're so diverse and you will really be able to, you know, exercise your clinical judgment and to work closely with the attendings to learn how to take care of them. So you'll be very, very prepared by the end of your residency.