Vascular Trainee Program redesigned for VAM 2020

Mar 31, 2020 Re-posted from the April 2020 issue of Vascular Specialist

BY BETH BALES

Helping vascular trainees successfully transition from education and training to clinical or academic practice is the central goal for the Vascular Trainee Program at the 2020 Vascular Annual Meeting (VAM).

The Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS), the Society for Clinical Vascular Surgery (SCVS) and the Vascular and Endovascular Surgery Society (VESS) are working together to create the program, redesigned substantially from 2019.

“There are nuanced and nonclinical skills required to successfully make that transition that are important to highlight,” said Dawn Coleman, MD, SVS representative for the program.

The program includes four didactic sessions on Thursday and Friday, June 18 and 19. Topics and times are: Academic Vascular Surgery, 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Thursday; Transition to Independent Clinical Practice, 4 to 5 p.m. Thursday; Conflict Management, 8 to 9 a.m. Friday; Leadership and the Young Surgeon, 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Friday.

The presentations will highlight “interactive sessions with a free exchange of questions and answers,” geared to both clinicians and researchers.

A “micro-mentoring” luncheon will be held from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. Friday. Planners envision several tables, each hosting a different trainee-related topic. In addition, vascular trainees will have their own area for conversation and networking with leaders at the Thursday evening opening reception, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

The transition to independent practice “can be anxiety-provoking” and not all programs/ curriculum comprehensively prepare trainees for all that is required, said Coleman. The team doctors brainstormed on content they thought would be useful for rising surgeons—essentially, “what we wish we had known, what we wish someone had told us,” said Coleman.

They knew they wanted to include leadership as a topic and skill. Many surgeons “underestimate that we all lead at many levels, even without a title of authority. We lead clinical and research teams, we interact with medical students and residents daily,” said Coleman. The vascular trainee program fills a gap. “We wanted something for vascular trainees, particularly ‘senior learners’ close to that transition to independent practice,” she said. The program has also been tailored to accommodate feedback from the 2019 Fellows Program.

For planning purposes, participants must register for the Friday luncheon. Visit vascular.org/VAM.

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