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Credit Claiming Dates and Content Availability

Deadline to claim credit is Wednesday, April 24, 2024. Access the credit/evaluation form here. 

Select “Claim Credit” to evaluate and claim credit for the meetings in which you attended. Information on available credits is provided below.

• If you participated at the live, in-person STS 2024 Annual Meeting (which includes the Lung Transplant Symposium) in San Antonio, you are eligible to claim up to 27.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™.
• If you participated in the live, virtual STS 2024 Annual Meeting Plenary Livestream-Plus, you are eligible to claim up to 5.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™.
• If you participated in the live, virtual Lung Transplant Symposium, you are eligible to claim up to 6.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™.
• You will have access to all recordings at the STS Learning Center on February 12, 2024.

Credit Transfer to the ABS and ABTS: By using the website to complete the evaluation and claim CME credit, you agree to The Society of Thoracic Surgeons reporting your credit completion information to the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education’s (ACCME) Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS). Transfer of data meets the credit reporting requirements of the American Board of Surgery (ABS) and the American Board of Thoracic Surgery (ABTS). All claimed credits will be transferred to the ABS and ABTS within 30 days of claiming credit. Contact the Education team directly with any questions (education@sts.org).

Accreditation and Credit Designation Statements

The Society of Thoracic Surgeons is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Physician Assistants (PAs) may claim AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ for completing any of these activities. NCCPA accepts AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ from organizations accredited by ACCME or a recognized state medical society.

Intended Audience
The intended audience consists of cardiothoracic surgeons, general surgeons, anesthesiologists, oncologists, cardiologists, pulmonologists, radiologists, and allied health care providers working with cardiothoracic surgeons. MDs and DOs may claim CME credit; non-MDs/DOs are awarded a certificate of participation.

Instructional Objectives
The instruction (learning experience) in this activity will:

• Provide for a review of the results of clinical and laboratory investigations designed to reveal new knowledge of cardiothoracic diseases or develop new technology applicable to the management of cardiothoracic diseases
• Evaluate the impact of new knowledge and the application of new technology on the treatment of cardiothoracic diseases
• Instruct attendees on the importance of patient safety issues and how current strategies can be introduced into one’s practice or institution
• Inform, enable, and update on surgical techniques in order to improve the standard of care within the specialty
• Allow for an examination of how public policy can impact the treatment of one’s patients
• Create a forum for sharing of information through small group discussions facilitated by leaders in cardiothoracic surgery
• Inform on non-technical skills, practice-related information, and other tools that can enhance the health and well-being of cardiothoracic surgeons
• Provide insight to best-practice approaches for surgical and medical care of lung transplant patients, from assessment as candidates though post-surgical care as recipients.

Annual Meeting Learner Objectives
As a result of participating in the Annual Meeting, learners will be able to:

• Practice evidence-based, informed cardiothoracic surgery.
• Apply current techniques and procedures.
• Advocate effectively for issues related to the specialty.
• Demonstrate improvement in competence, performance or patient outcomes.
• Apply strategies to maintain wellness and prevent burnout.

Lung Transplant Symposium Learner Objectives
As a result of participating in the Lung Transplant Symposium, learners will be able to:

• Demonstrate best practices in recipient selection and donor selection.
• Apply best practices in intraoperative and postoperative management of lung surgery patients.
• Discuss challenging situations in transplantation and techniques for effective resolution.

Disclosures & Faculty
DISCLOSURE OF FINANCIAL RELATIONSHIPS AND MITIGATION OF CONFLICTS OF INTEREST FOR STS CME ACTIVITIES

STS recognizes that there are a variety of financial relationships between individuals and ineligible companies that require review to identify possible conflicts of interest in a CME activity. The STS “Education Disclosure Policy” is designed to ensure quality, objective, balanced, and scientifically rigorous STS CME activities by identifying and resolving all potential conflicts of interest prior to the confirmation of service of those in a position to influence and/or control CME content. The STS has taken steps to mitigate any potential conflicts of interest. The purpose of this policy is to ensure all potential conflicts of interest are identified and mechanisms to mitigate them prior to the CME activity are implemented in ways that are consistent with the public good. STS is committed to providing learners with commercially unbiased CME activities.

All STS CME activities will strictly adhere to the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education. In accordance with these Standards, the following decisions will be made free of the control of an ineligible company: identification of CME needs, determination of educational objectives, selection and presentation of content, selection of all persons and organizations that will be in a position to control the content, selection of educational methods, and evaluation of the CME activity.

All STS 2024 Annual Meeting conflict of interest disclosures can be found in the list of faculty for each session. Please note, there may be discrepancies in the provided list of disclosures compared to faculty/participant verbal disclosures in the session due to changes or relevance. All of the relevant financial relationships listed for these individuals have been mitigated.

Disclosure Information
As a sponsor of continuing medical education accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), The Society of Thoracic Surgeons requires that any individual who is in a position to control the content of an educational activity must disclose all financial relationships with any ineligible companies. This is to ensure that that all decisions related to the planning, faculty selection, delivery, and evaluation of accredited education are made without any influence or involvement from the owners and employees of an ineligible company. The ACCME defines ineligible companies as those whose “primary business is producing, marketing, selling, reselling, or distributing health care products used by or on patients.” The question of whether a disclosed conflict situation could represent undue influence on the educational activity by an ineligible company or whether the disclosed information is sufficient to consider an abstract, presentation, or other educational enduring material to represent potentially biased information must be mitigated prior to an individual’s involvement in STS educational programming.

Disclosure information is provided for each presenter at the beginning of the session and/or presentation. If applicable, the absence of relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies will also be disclosed to learners. To review the complete STS Education Disclosure Policy, go to sts.org/education-disclosure-policy.