The Well-Tempered Clinic: The Clinical and Educational Importance of Cardiovascular Surgical Clinics (With a nod to Johann Sebastian Bach).

A common assertion regarding the trajectory of surgeons from training to independent practice is that the first five years after completing training encompass the steepest learning curve of a young surgeon's career. That assertion is often made in the context of beginning to perform operations independently.  However, it is likely that an under-recognized but equally steep learning curve will occur as newly minted surgeons begin to run their own clinics. In fact, it is likely that there is no aspect of surgical training with a greater discrepancy between the educational value for and the interest by surgical trainees than preoperative, postoperative, and follow-up clinics for surgical patients.