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Home > Vascular Annual Meeting > PP27. Vascular Surgery Resident Operative Experience...

PP27. Vascular Surgery Resident Operative Experience 1999-2007: The Need for Alternative Training Modalities

Amy B. Reed1, John F. Eidt2
1University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH; 2University of Arkansas, Little Rock, AR

OBJECTIVES: The emergence of a variety of endovascular technologies in the past decade has resulted in a dramatic change in the scope of vascular surgery practice. The number of complex open vascular surgery cases has decreased significantly accompanied by an increase in the number of minimally invasive catheter-based procedures performed. It would be expected that vascular surgery trainee exposure to complex open cases would also diminish. This review was undertaken to 1) analyze the impact of these changes in practice patterns on the training of vascular surgery residents and 2) identify content areas for alternative educational opportunities.

METHODS: Vascular Surgery Case Logs submitted to the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) by graduating vascular surgery residents were analyzed. The frequency of both open and endovascular procedures was determined. The mean with standard deviation, maximum and mode was available for all years. The mode, the most commonly reported number by trainees for a given procedure, was used to compare each procedure annually.

RESULTS: Case log data was analyzed from July 1, 1999 to June 30, 2008. During the 9-year study period a mean of 103 trainees from 86 programs reported cases to the ACGME annually. In 2008, the most commonly coded procedure by trainees completing a vascular surgery fellowship was 55 diagnostic arteriograms. In 1999, the most commonly coded procedure was 38 femoral-popliteal-tibial bypass/endarterectomies FPTBE. (Table)

CONCLUSIONS: Despite a dramatic increase in endovascular procedures during the past 9 years, vascular surgery residents continue to report satisfactory experience with common open vascular operations. Gaining experience in complex open procedures, varicose veins and dialysis access remains as much of a challenge today as it did in 1999. Alternative training modalities such as online learning modules, regional symposia, and simulation centers may help bridge this gap.

AUTHOR DISCLOSURES: A.B. Reed, None; J.F. Eidt, None.

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