Each STS CME activity in The Annals consists of a self-study test on an original article from one of the journal's major subject categories (Adult Cardiac, General Thoracic, Pediatric Cardiac Surgery, and Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology), a statement of the learning objectives and an evaluation of the activity. Each activity expires 24 months after its appearance online to ensure that CME activities contain content commensurate with up-to-date knowledge in the field.

You must answer 100% of the test questions correctly in order to pass the test. You are given the opportunity to re-answer incorrectly answered questions until you achieve a score of 100%. Achievement of that score opens links to the correct answers in context within the CME designated article. After passing the test and looking at the correct answers in context, you MUST complete the evaluation of the CME activity. After answering all of the evaluation questions, CME credit is awarded and recorded in your "My CME" folder from where you can print a CME certificate for up to 1 hour of credit. This information is also recorded at the STS headquarters office for future reference.

Hardware/Software Requirements

This activity requires:

Browser: Internet Explorer 5.0 or above or Netscape 7.0 or above.

Software: Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0 or above (Download the free Adobe Acrobat Reader at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html).

Accreditation and Designation Statement

The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians. The STS designates this online educational activity for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit ^TM. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity (in 15 minute increments).

Estimated Time to Complete

Intended Audience

The intended audience consists of thoracic and cardiothoracic surgeons, pediatric cardiac surgeons, general surgeons, anesthesiologists, oncologists, cardiologists, pulmonologists, and radiologists. MDs and DOs can take the CME activities for credit; non-MDs and non-DOs should not claim credit.

Disclosure Policies

The Annals requires authors of CME designated articles and authors of CME activities to disclose any conflict(s) of interest. If an author of a CME designated article has a financial relationship with one or more companies whose products are featured in the article, the nature of the relationship will be disclosed on the first page of the published article. If an author of a CME activity has a financial relationship with one or more companies whose products are featured in the CME designated article, the editor, as the STS designee, will assign another person, who has no conflicts, to write the objectives and exam for the CME activity.

If the CME article describes a) the use of a device, product or drug that is not FDA approved, or b) an off label use of an approved device, product or drug, this information will be disclosed in the introduction of the CME activity.

For both the CME designated articles and the CME activities, the absence of any declaration of a disclosure indicates that there is nothing to disclose. To review the complete STS Education Disclosure Policy, go to http://www.sts.org/sections/education/.

Privacy Statement

STS will not release individual information about use of its site, including visitor e-mail addresses, to any third party. STS will not transfer, sell or rent visitor e-mail addresses to any third party.

STS Members may be added to the STS e-mail directory for the sole purpose of providing important Society-specific communications.

STS may report general information about activity on its e-learning Web site to third parties, which may include advertisers or sponsors. STS will report only aggregate statistics, for instance, total number of page views, overall duration of visits, or similar aggregate data.

STS may use "cookie" technology to obtain information from on-line visitors. (Cookies are bits of information on individual computers that help Web sites "recognize" visitors. For instance, cookies can help us recognize your name and password so you don’t have to log in each time you visit.) STS will not contact you based on information in your cookie field.

The Society has taken reasonable steps to keep all information secure against unauthorized access and use. We will review our privacy policy regularly.

Please direct any questions about this privacy statement to sts@sts.org.

The Society maintains its e-learning Web site in conjunction with CTSNet, which also provides an online privacy statement: http://www.ctsnet.org/sections/aboutctsnet/privacy/index.html.

Provider Contact Information

Subscription Information

For information on subscribing to The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, please visit http://www.us.elsevierhealth.com/product.jsp?isbn=00034975.

Copyright Notice

All CME articles published in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery and attendant CME activities are copyrighted by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons.

Copyright © 2008 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons, All Rights Reserved.