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Home > Medical Professionals > Practice Resources > Practice Articles > Primary Certificate in Vascular Surgery Letter to SVS members

The Primary Certificate in Vascular Surgery

Letter to SVS Members

February 15, 2005

Dear SVS Member:

All indicators point to a serious shortage in the vascular surgery workforce in the years ahead.  We must take steps now to reverse this trend. Vascular surgery is at a crossroads. A scenario of continued growth for our profession demands that we address the workforce issue now, and that we address it effectively.

Vascular surgery leaders have been pursuing two parallel tracks toward our goals — an independent board of vascular surgery (ABVS) which would exist as an entity autonomous from the American Board of Surgery (ABS), and a primary certificate in vascular surgery which would be issued by the ABS. (The attached “frequently asked questions” document provides more background information about these approaches.)

As the primary certificate nears final approval by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), the SVS Executive Committee reaffirmed its support for the primary certificate in a conference call held last week.

It is important for vascular surgeons to know that legal opinion obtained by the SVS indicated that the primary certificate will in no way worsen the chances of obtaining approval for an independent board of vascular surgery. The independent board may be viewed as a long-term strategy; in contrast, the primary certificate enables us to start making meaningful changes now.

What is the rationale for SVS supporting both a primary certificate and an independent board?

• It may take years to achieve approval for an independent board. The American Board of Vascular Surgery’s (ABVS) 2002 application for approval by the ABMS, which is supported by SVS, was turned down. ABVS is currently going through the appeal process, the results of which are not known. ABMS has not approved a new Member Board since 1991.
  
• In contrast, ABMS approval for the establishment of a primary certificate in vascular surgery is expected in a few weeks.  At the initiative of SVS, the ABS submitted an application for a primary certificate in vascular surgery to ABMS in March 2004, with the unanimous approval of the ABS. At its April 2004 Board meeting, the Association of Program Directors in Vascular Surgery (APDVS) voted to support the establishment of a primary certificate as well as continuing efforts to achieve approval for an independent ABVS. Since then, the application for the primary certificate has gone through the formal process designated by ABMS in the minimum time allowed by that organization. The next hearing on the application is on March 16, when a decision is expected. We want to reiterate that legal opinion obtained by SVS stated that the primary certificate will not worsen the chances of approval of an independent Board.
  
• The primary certificate allows us to start addressing workforce and educational issues now. We believe that the best way to grow the field is to remove the barriers to entry—most importantly, to eliminate the current requirement for certification in general surgery prior to starting vascular surgery training. The more flexible and in-depth educational tracks made possible by this change will serve as a catalyst for growth in the number of vascular surgery trainees. If we do not support the primary certificate now, we may not be able to have a timely impact on vascular surgery training requirements.

Finally, we must note that our credibility as a profession demands that we stand united in our goals and strategies with respect to professional certification—both the primary certificate and an independent certifying board (ABVS). We ask for your support as we approach the final stages of the approval process for a primary certificate in vascular surgery, an objective that is crucial to the long-term viability of our specialty.

Best regards,

Gregorio A. Sicard, MD
President
Society for Vascular Surgery