The Cardiothoracic Surgical Advanced Practice Provider (APP) Residency is an intensive 12-month advanced training program. Your training will be comprised of concomitant didactic and clinical curriculums. Our program will provide you with a solid foundation in diagnosing and managing conditions common to cardiothoracic surgery patients and will include a robust intraoperative experience.
Upon completion of the program, our fellows will have the skills to triage, evaluate, treat, and manage cardiac and thoracic problems and be independent first-assistant in the operating room.
They will master various techniques of conduit harvesting and preparation. In addition, our fellows will have acquired the necessary knowledge and skills to manage patients with:
- Adult Congenital Heart Disease
- Aortic Aneurysm
- Aortic Valve Disease
- Coronary Artery Disease
- Lung and Esophageal Cancer
- Mitral Valve Disease
- Thoracic Disease
- Thoracic Trauma
The program aims to help you grow and develop the surgical, medical, and critical thinking skills required to build a successful career in cardiothoracic surgery.
Hear from our program directors
Watch these videos to learn about the program from Chelsea Stoutenburg, MPAS, PA-C, and Lisa Cotnoir, MPAS, PA-C.
Accreditation
The Cardiothoracic Surgical APP Postgraduate Program at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) embarked on the journey to accreditation in 2020. In June 2021, the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) granted provisional accreditation, making it the first accredited APP Postgraduate program at DHMC. In 2024, the CT Surgical APP Postgraduate program was granted continued accreditation status by the ARC-PA and continues to be the only accredited Cardiothoracic Surgery APP Postgraduate program in the United States.
Accreditation-Clinical Postgraduate Program is the status of accreditation granted when a new or currently accredited clinical postgraduate program complies with the Standards for Clinical Postgraduate Programs. The accreditation-clinical postgraduate program remains in effect until the program closes or withdraws from the accreditation process or until accreditation is withdrawn for failure to comply with the Standards, ARC-PA requirements or procedures.
Accreditation-Clinical Postgraduate Program does not ensure any subsequent accreditation status. It is limited to five years from matriculation of the first class. The program's accreditation history can be viewed on the ARC-PA website.