Professional Lifespan : From Residency to Retirement, an Issue of Thoracic Surgery Clinics

In this issue of Thoracic Surgery Clinics, guest editors Drs. Stephen Yang and Jinny Ha bring their considerable expertise to the topic of The Professional Lifespan: From Residency to Retirement.
Profession transitions in thoracic surgery are difficult at any point in one’s career, from fellowships and first jobs through mid-career moves and retirement. Every thoracic surgeon goes through these transitions, but needs guidance to do so effectively. This issue covers the entire career lifespan of a thoracic surgeon, plus important related topics such as finances, wellness, lifelong learning, and diversity.

• Contains 15 relevant, practice-oriented topics including the growing years: promoting yourself the first five years; navigating promotions in thoracic surgery; integrating advocacy into your practice; exit strategy: preparing for retirement; the mid-career crisis: moving on to the next job; and more.
• Provides in-depth information on the professional lifespan: from residency to retirement, offering actionable insights for a lifetime of clinical practice.
• Presents the latest information on this timely, focused topic under the leadership of experienced editors in the field. Authors synthesize and distill the latest research and practice guidelines to create clinically significant, topic-based reviews.

Stephen C. Yang, MD, FACS, MAMSE is Professor of Surgery and Medical Oncology, and the Arthur B. and Patricia B. Modell Endowed Chair in Thoracic Surgery at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, starting as faculty in 1994. He serves as Vice-Chair for Professional Development for the Department of Surgery. His teaching, research and clinical service awards include the: 1996 Johns Hopkins William F. Rienhoff Award for research; 1997 American Association for Thoracic Surgery Andrew Morrow Research Scholar; 2004 Medical College of Virginia Outstanding Alumnus Award; 2006 Thoracic Surgery Directors Association Socrates Award; 2006 Society of Thoracic Surgeons J. Maxwell Chamberlain Award for the best general thoracic paper at the annual meeting; 2008 Johns Hopkins Dean’s Award as Clinical Teacher of the Year; 2017 Southern Thoracic Surgical Association Urschel-Mavroudis Spirit Award; 2018 Medical School Graduation Marshall. He has been inducted into The Johns Hopkins Distinguished Teaching Society, AOA Honor Society at MCV, the American College of Surgeons Academy of Master Surgeon Educators, and honorary member of the Women in Thoracic Surgery. In 2026, he was awarded the Department of Surgery “William A. Baumgarter Mentor of the Year.”

His clinical interests involve all aspects of general thoracic surgery, with emphasis in lung and esophageal cancer biology/survivorship, pectus excavatum, robotics surgery, patient safety/outcomes, geriatric thoracic surgery and enhancing the educational paradigm for medical students, residents and junior faculty. He had developed novel techniques in lung transplantation with cadaveric lobar transplantation, and in robotic surgery, and currently one of the few surgeons performing single port robotic surgery. His educational research is focused on outcomes of training paradigms, metrics of board certification, and the influence of national scholarship programs, in particular the STS “Looking to the Future” Awards which he created in 2006, and the STSA “Brooks Scholarship” in 2011. He has donated to the WTS in 2026 a research scholarship “The Muriel T. Yang Educational Award” in honor of his mother who would have been 99 years old.

Elected to the American Board of Thoracic Surgery in 2014, he is the immediate past Examination Chair and Editor-in-Chief of SESATS XIII. He currently serves as Consultant and Advisor to the ABTS, chairing the EPA Advisory Council. He is the current President of the Thoracic Surgery Directors Association, and elected to the ACGME Residency Review Committee for Thoracic Surgery in 2019. As the immediate Past President of the STSA, he serves as the current Chair of the Foundation Board. He was the JTCVS Associate Editor for the education section, former Chair of the Medical Student Education Committee for the ACS, and Past President of the Surgery Clerkship Directors Association for the ASE.