Core Residency Programs
Surgical Education/General Information
- One of the first integrated training programs in the country, our five-year residency program has trained two residents per year since 2007. The program is designed to train well-rounded vascular specialists with expertise in clinical and academic vascular care and provide exposure to cutting edge new technologies and research.
- The program is available to fourth-year medical students through the standard application and matching pathways (ERAS and NRMP).
- All non-vascular rotations occur in the first two years of the program. These robust experiences include rotations in general surgery, trauma surgery, radiology, cardiology, and multiple ICU rotations. The first two years are curated to provide core surgical training and expertise in critical care of the vascular surgical patient. The remaining three clinical years are devoted exclusively to vascular surgery training.
- The program includes an additional mandatory two years of research under a T32 training grant. The research years start after the third clinical year and include basic science research, biomechanical engineering research, or clinical research with the possibility of obtaining an MSc degree in clinical research. Residents routinely present their work at regional and national meetings and have gone on to publish landmark papers.
- The core of the service rotations for both the fellowship and integrated programs is at UPMC Presbyterian and UPMC Shadyside, where residents are challenged by a vast array of open and endovascular cases. Additionally, residents spend time at UPMC Passavant, UPMC St. Margaret, UPMC Mercy, UPMC Montefiore, Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC, and the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System.
- The vascular surgery residents manage the core vascular surgery clinical service at each hospital. General surgical residents rotate on select services and share call responsibilities. All residents are also required to attend clinic on a weekly basis, which provides them with continuity of care and the opportunity to meet the patient both pre- and post-operatively.
- The operative experience includes rich exposure to aortic diseases, aneurysms, carotid artery stenosis, peripheral arterial disease, traumatic vascular injuries (through coverage of two level 1 trauma centers), dialysis access, and venous pathology including interventional therapy for acute and chronic deep vein thrombosis (DVT). It also provides a balanced mix of endovascular and open procedures, including open and fenestrated or branched repair of thoracoabdominal aneurysm. Our vascular surgery residents log more than 300 cases per year. The residents are given a gradual increase in direct responsibility for pre- and post-operative patient care, and for the performance of surgical procedures under the direct supervision of the attending vascular surgeon.
Conferences
- A defining aspect of our program is our educational conferences which are held on a weekly basis every Wednesday and are attended by all faculty members and trainees. The conferences are multifaceted and engaging. They include grand rounds presentations, joint conferences with trauma surgery, aortic conference with cardiac surgery, a robust vascular lab curriculum, morbidity and mortality, and case presentations.
- Junior Resident Education: Twice a month, the 1st year, 2nd year, and research year residents participate in an extra hour of conference geared towards the early training years. This includes hands on ultrasound experience, EVAR measuring instruction, and tips to approaching complex consults, as well as VSITE study.
- Simulation lab