About Us

The London School of Cardiothoracics (LSOC) is the premier surgical teaching centre for junior cardiac surgeons, thoracic surgeons, cardiologists and anaesthetists in England.  The teaching organisation was developed as a result of a recognised gap in cardiothoracic education for junior surgeons, medics, foundation doctors and medical students, specifically during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on the delivery of simulation and skill-based courses.

 

LSOC runs as an entirely non-profit organisation, with all faculty working voluntarily, and all funding raised from courses going back into the development of the organisation.
 

LSOC was founded in 2020, to promote training courses for junior surgeons as well as medical students, and foundation students, for whom such opportunities are almost non-existent in cardiothoracic surgery.  However, during its development, it’s reach was extended towards supporting the noticeable drop in hands-on training for all training surgeons during the COVID pandemic.  

With exceptional support from our founding consultant surgeons at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, we launched our inaugural course, Basic Skills in Cardiothoracic Surgery, designed to deliver practical teaching in key skills in cardiac and thoracic surgery, supported by lectures on vital clinical topics, all aimed at foundation doctors and junior surgeons (foundation and SHO level – 1-3 years out of medical school).  As a testament to our initial aim, we sold out within 1 hr of releasing tickets, a now regular occurrence for all our courses, with recruitment from centres all over England. This strengthened our resolve that we were at the pinnacle of supporting great training for junior doctors in cardiothoracic surgery, and the need for focused, structured organisations such as ours to deliver this work.

Since then, we have gone on to deliver over 15 courses  to over 300 participants, with our reach extending nationally, throughout the UK, and from medical students to registrars. We have also expanded towards inclusion of multi-disciplinary specialities in cardiac and thoracic medicine, with attendance at our course by many other vital specialties including cardiologists, respiratory physicians and intensive care.

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Lastly, we have expanded into research, medical student support (through the LSOC Student Network (LSN)) and plenty more to come!