A Message from SVS President G. Patrick Clagett, MD

The 2008 SVS Strategic Plan is not just a statement of SVS hopes and aspirations; it is a document that serves as an instrument to measure our progress in multiple areas that benefit the membership. It is useful and instructive to review this SVS Annual Report in the context of our Strategic Plan. The SVS over-arching vision is to be the recognized leader for the comprehensive care of patients with vascular disease. In order to achieve this vision, six major goals were developed under the Strategic Plan.

G. PATRICK CLAGETT, MD

Goal 1: SVS will be the preeminent source for continuing education on vascular disease. Among the many educational initiatives that are detailed below, it is notable that the 2008 Vascular Annual Meeting was among the most successful in recent history. Attendance was at an all-time high and an official, independent analysis provided by Perception Solutions, Inc. based on survey results, documented an overwhelming positive response of the attendees. Other educational achievements include the development of the Vascular Education and Self-Assessment Program (VESAP) that will become an important component of the new Maintenance of Certification initiative of the Vascular Surgery Board of the American Board of Surgery.

Goal 2: SVS will define the identity of vascular surgery to health care providers and the public. SVS has undertaken an extensive branding initiative based upon the findings from professional surveys to primary care providers and the public. The results indicate we should focus our efforts on primary care physicians with the message that vascular surgeons provide the full spectrum of vascular interventions including minimally invasive, catheter-based techniques. Other details of the SVS branding initiative are listed below. Defining our specialty and branding can occur through multiple means including VascularWeb, outreach to medical students and residents, patient information brochures, media initiatives, vascular screening programs, and publication of outcomes from the SVS Vascular Registry. In addition, members can extend these branding efforts for the specialty and their practice by using the materials in the SVS Branding Toolkits that are available on VascularWeb.

Goal 3: SVS will be recognized as a premier source for practice guidelines on vascular disease. SVS has an extensive program to develop evidence-based Practice Guidelines and Reporting Standards. Guidelines for carotid disease and AV access are complete and have already been published; Practice Guidelines for lower extremity arterial, venous, and thoracic aortic disease are in progress and are nearing completion.

Goal 4: SVS will be an influential voice in Congress and regulatory agencies. The SVS Health Policy Committee and the SVS PAC have developed numerous initiatives aimed at Congress, CMS, the FDA, NQF, AHRQ, and other federal agencies. Our successes in these endeavors are outlined below. What is not overtly apparent from a simple listing of initiatives and activities is that SVS has gained great respect among these agencies for honesty and integrity. Not only is our voice heard in Washington, it is a respected voice that has weight in government policy deliberations. We are deeply indebted to the SVS Health Policy Committee for realizing this goal.

Goal 5: SVS will foster research to optimize patient care. Under the leadership of the SVS Research Council, many new research initiatives have been realized in the last year. Prominent among them is the Clinical Research Seed Grant program. This program is designed to foster clinical research growth among junior members to become future leaders in the field. In addition to clinical research initiatives, traditional basic and NIH-sponsored research programs continue to be developed through initiatives sponsored by SVS and our foundation, the American Vascular Association. One of the Research Forum's most successful programs was an additional poster session at the 2008 Vascular Annual Meeting.

Goal 6: SVS will facilitate increasing the supply of vascular surgeons. Our training programs currently graduate approximately 110 vascular surgeons annually. In addition to being dwarfed by the large number of cardiologists and others involved in the treatment of patients with vascular disease, the dramatically expanding population of elder patients forecasts a critical shortage of vascular specialists who can offer the full spectrum of vascular interventions including open vascular surgery. SVS has undertaken a new initiative to facilitate the development of new vascular training programs. Not only will this focus on 0-5 integrated programs, but also new traditional two-year fellowships following completion of general surgery residency. The new SVS initiative has the ambitious, but feasible goal of doubling the vascular surgery workforce in the next decade.

A final undertaking during the last year involved clarification of vascular surgery training and certification. After a series of meetings that culminated in a summit with the SVS and American Board of Surgery (ABS) leadership, the following principles were officially agreed upon: 1) the Vascular Surgery Board of the ABS (VSB-ABS) would be officially granted complete authority over all training and certification requirements for vascular surgeons; 2) vascular surgery would no longer be considered an essential content area (primary component) of general surgery; 3) ABS acknowledged that general surgeons who wished to practice vascular surgery should complete an ACGME-accredited vascular residency; 4) ABS would petition ACGME to increase vascular surgery representation on the RRC-S; and 5) the SVS would recognize the VSB-ABS as the group responsible for vascular surgery training, certification, and recertification issues.

These are but a few of the highlights from SVS programs and initiatives during the past year. We have accomplished a great deal, but have much work ahead of us in fully realizing our Strategic Plan. Membership involvement is critical in this process. SVS committee appointments and other positions have been made democratic and open to all members. I invite you to respond to the multiple calls for participation in SVS activities through Requests for Application announced in SVS Pulse and other SVS communications.