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Forward2025-2026 STS Wellness Institute
Register for the STS Wellness Institute by enrolling in this activity, exclusively for STS Members. You will receive a confirmation email upon purchase.
Activity Description
Through five virtual sessions, the program aims to help cardiothoracic surgery professionals understand how work, various stressors of life, and personal behaviors impact them—and how to become their best selves in and out of the OR. Each session will include a didactic portion and private, small-group discussions. Only the didactic presentations will be recorded.
Please note the dates and plan to attend all the events in the series.
Links to join each virtual session will be posted here, as well as the recordings. A reminder will be sent to your e-mail prior to each event.
| Pricing | |
| Surgeon and Senior Members | $450 |
| Associate Members | $150 |
| Resident/Fellow or Medical Student Members | $100 |
*This program is exclusively for members of STS. Registration includes access to all five virtual sessions, recorded versions of all featured speakers, and the opportunity to participate in private, small-group discussions with other participants. Members can register at any point during the series, but registration will not be prorated.
NOTE: Participants can claim 1 CME credit per LIVE session by completing a separate evaluation in the STS Learning Center, which will be sent to attendees after each session. Continuing education credit is NOT associated with the recordings.
Schedule of Events
Session 1: Financial Wellness for the Cardiothoracic Surgeon
Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025
8 – 9 p.m. ET
Session 2: Use of Biometric Feedback to Optimize Personal Performance
Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025
8 – 9 p.m. ET
Session 3: The Sport of Cardiothoracic Surgery: Workplace Ergonomic Challenges and Strategies to Mitigate Their Impact
Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026
8 – 9 p.m. ET
Session 4: Parenting Balance
Tuesday, March 17, 2026
8 – 9 p.m. ET
Session 5: Beyond the Breaking Point: Building Resilience and Protecting Well-Being in Thoracic Surgeons
Tuesday, April 28, 2026
8 – 9 p.m. ET
Learning Objectives
After completing the series, learners should be able to:
- Identify tools and resources that can be used to foster individual well-being.
- Describe the dimensions that comprise overall wellness.
- Employ wellness resources towards their own well-being.
- Implement wellness activities and programs throughout their team, institution, or community.
Session 1: Financial Wellness for the Cardiothoracic Surgeon
Date: 10/28/2025
Description: Financial wellness is a crucial pillar of overall wellness and is intricately linked to many aspects of an individual’s personal and professional life. In this session, we bring together cardiothoracic surgeon leaders and non-physician financial advisors with extensive experience in the healthcare advising space to learn about important financial topics, such as personal investing, tax and insurance considerations, family planning, and retirement savings. The program will feature a presentation from Personal Choice Financial Advisors, followed by robust group discussion to build tools and strategies for financial wellbeing and independence.
Moderator: Andrea Axtell, MD, MPH, University of Wisconsin
Speaker: Personal Choice Financial Advisors
Session 2: Use of Biometric Feedback to Optimize Personal Performance
Date: 12/2/2025
Description: Improving one's overall well-being and recovery is essential to optimize personal performance in all aspects of life. There is a growing use of wearables, such as smartwatches, fitness trackers, and rings, that gather biometric data in real time which can be tracked and leveraged to improve stress management, sleep hygiene, and recovery. By becoming more aware of our body's stress signals and responses through biometric feedback, we can take proactive steps to optimize performance, improve satisfaction at work and home, and potentially increase career longevity.
Moderator: Shawn Groth, MD, Baylor College of Medicine
Speakers: Andrea Wolf, MD, Mount Sinai and Lauren Barron, MD, Baylor College of Medicine
Session 3: The Sport of Cardiothoracic Surgery: Workplace Ergonomic Challenges and Strategies to Mitigate Their Impact
Date: 2/10/2026
Description: Wellness in the workplace requires proper ergonomics to avoid injury in the operating room. Given the intense physical demands of cardiothoracic surgery, such injuries are common and often necessitate treatment and time off work. Furthermore, the long-term impact of ergonomic challenges can reduce career longevity. Therefore, a deeper understanding of the ergonomic challenges facing cardiothoracic surgeons as well as strategies to reduce the risk of work-related injury is essential for trainees and for practicing surgeons.
Moderator: Shawn Groth, MD, Baylor College of Medicine
Session 4: Parenting Balance
Date: 3/17/2026
Description: This session will feature a conversation with author and expert Dr. Yael Schonbrun about strategies to balance a demanding career with being an active and involved parent. Dr. Schonbrun is the author of the award winning book Work. Parent. Thrive. and a practicing clinical psychologist and faculty at Brown University.
Moderator: Gavitt Woodard, MD, Yale School of Medicine
Speaker: Yael Schonbrun, PhD
Session 5: Beyond the Breaking Point: Building Resilience and Protecting Well-Being in Thoracic Surgeons
Date: 4/28/2026
Description: In this session, surgeons will learn to recognize early warning signs of burnout, emotional exhaustion, and stress-related vulnerabilities. By understanding how unmanaged stress can lead to negative coping strategies and self-destructive behaviors, participants will explore pro-active strategies for resilience, balance, and protecting mental health. Over time, this will foster psychological safety and a culture of wellness within surgical teams, colleagues, and hospital systems.
Moderator: Boris Sepesi, MD, Swedish Medical Center, Colorado
Speaker: Mike Klaybor, PhD, LPC-S
Accreditation Information
The Society of Thoracic Surgeons is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
The Society of Thoracic Surgeons designates each of these live activities for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in each activity.
NOTE: Participants can claim 1 CME credit per LIVE session by completing a separate evaluation in the STS Learning Center, which will be sent to attendees after each session. Continuing education credit is NOT associated with the recordings.