How Will the Introduction of Primary Certificate Training Programs Change Vascular Surgery Training Programs?

New requirements for vascular surgery training allow several routes to Board eligibility in the specialty. Individuals can enter vascular residency directly from medical school, after 3 years of surgical residency, or after completion of the traditional 5 years of surgery training. Vascular surgery program directors will be faced with the challenges of obtaining institutional support, designing an acceptable educational program, and working closely with the general surgery program director to ensure both programs are successful. Faculty in the vascular program may find working with residents right out of medical school or after only 3 years of surgery training to be a challenge, especially in terms of developing the requisite technical skills. Residents must be able to demonstrate mastery of the six competencies in addition to the skills of vascular surgery. Because, in some ways, this new vascular training scheme is an experiment in redesigning all surgical education, the vascular community will need to carefully evaluate the results by monitoring the practices of those who graduate from these programs.