Divided We Fall

“No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it.” – H.E. Luccock.

As I pondered on how to summarize this editor’s note, I realized that there is actually one overarching theme which conveys a necessity of this current world era and which also summarizes this edition of the PCICS newsletter: collaboration. For this newsletter, we invited 3 congenital heart surgeons to share perspectives with the PCICS membership. Their editorials are as varied as they are enlightening. It is hard to think of a field where multidisciplinary teamwork and camaraderie is more important than in the care of critically ill pediatric heart patients. For this reason, sharing information and fostering partnerships with our surgical colleagues is crucial, not only in day-to-day patient management, but through media like this, where broad ideas in clinical care and research can be exchanged.

Collaboration on so many levels is key. This is obvious as the world collectively struggles through a pandemic. Knowledge and research about the novel coronavirus have been shared internationally through online seminars. Non-COVID19 clinical educational opportunities have also arisen, as clinicians have taken advantage of virtual platforms to teach widely. In terms of reducing COVID19 spread, we will only be as strong as our weakest link. One region with ongoing community spread has ramifications for the rest of the world, in terms of travel, business and leisure. In the spirit of collaboration, we can achieve a common goal when we all do our part. #WearAMask.

Finally, I would be remiss not to mention the wave of protests for racial justice over the past few weeks, in the United States and around the world. In this newsletter with a focus on collaboration, I encourage you to read the PCICS statement on racial justice in our community (released June 30, 2020), and to participate.

I would like to thank the three invited cardiac surgeons, Drs. Jake Jaquiss, Sitaram Emani and Michael Ma, for their contributions to this PCICS newsletter. Various PCICS committees have also provided updates, including the Program Committee’s update on a planned virtual conference this year. Please contact me with questions or comments regarding all content in this newsletter, or for future newsletters: ivie.esangbedo@utsouthwestern.edu.