Vascular Surgery Residency Curriculum

Curriculum

The Division of Vascular Surgery offers a five-year vascular surgery residency program, with one position available each year, that was approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) in 2009.  Applicants must be graduates of LCME-accredited medical schools, osteopathic schools accredited by AOA, or foreign medical schools with ECFMG certification.  Southern Illinois University School of Medicine is affiliated with two 600-bed private hospitals, St. John’s Hospital and Springfield Memorial Hospital, that are separated by less than a mile.  Residents who complete the program are eligible for a primary vascular surgery certificate from the American Board of Surgery.  

The operative caseload is varied, covering virtually every aspect of peripheral vascular surgery, but is primarily open and endovascular management of carotid stenosis, aortic aneurysms, and lower extremity arterial occlusive disease.  The resident is also responsible for interpreting non-invasive laboratory studies, for seeing inpatient consultations, for preparing a vascular conference every week, and for assisting in the outpatient clinic.

Ample time is provided for the residents to participate in clinical and non-invasive vascular laboratory research. 

SIU has an outstanding reputation for innovative methods of surgical education, including a premier surgical skills lab. Vascular surgery residents will participate in structured learning experiences including a “boot camp” to master basic surgical skills such as knot tying, suturing, central line placement, anastomotic techniques, chest tube insertion, surgical airway placement and laparoscopic skills.  In addition, vascular residents will participate in the department’s Residents as Teachers (RATS) program.  Core surgical rotations are concentrated in the first three years of the residency in conjunction with the Division of General Surgery.

Conferences

Vascular Core Conference
Vascular Core Conference is held weekly on Wednesday mornings from 0700-0800.  Specific topics and assignments will be coordinated by the residents themselves using the VSCORE curriculum.

Vascular M&M and Interesting Case Conference
Vascular residents and surgery residents on the vascular rotation are required to attend vascular M&M and the interesting case conference.  The conference will occur weekly on Friday at 7 a.m.  The fourth-year vascular resident will present cases at this conference. Attendance at this conference is mandatory.

Vascular Conference
Vascular conference is held every Friday at 8 a.m.  Attendance is mandatory for vascular residents and residents on the vascular surgery service. Listed below are the four broad topics for this conference, which occur on a rotating schedule.  An index will be provided with the specific topics to be discussed each week. 

First Friday – Monthly resident meeting.

Second Friday – Grand Rounds/Debates/Mock Orals/Research – This conference will consist of rotating topics each month. There will be two debates each year, one with the PGY 3 vs. 4, and the other PGY 2 vs. 1, with the PGY 5 serving as the moderator. The Grand Rounds conference will be a speaker outside of vascular surgery giving lectures on various topics such as professionalism/leadership, billing/coding, etc. There will be one virtual mock orals session each year.  The Research meeting will be held quarterly and will be a time to discuss.

Third Friday - Vascular Topics – This conference will be presented by the vascular trainees and faculty from a selected list of basic science topics or topics of particular interest to the presenter. This conference will also feature invited speakers on vascular related topics of interest such as wound care, orthotics and prosthetics, new technologies, innovations in vascular surgery, etc.  

Fourth Friday - Clinical Curriculum/Journal Club Conference – This conference will provide a systematic review of topics chosen from the APDVS curriculum index and serve as a review of pertinent articles chosen from a monthly survey of current journals. Articles addressing basic science issues as well as clinical issues will be presented. The format will consist of review and discussion of published articles germane to the topic at hand. Each vascular resident will be assigned an article for primary review. Articles for this conference will be chosen by the PGY 3 according to a predetermined topic schedule and submitted to the Program Director for review before distribution.

Fifth Friday – No conference 
 

General Surgery Grand Rounds and Core Conference
PGY 1-3 vascular residents will be required to attend general surgery conferences every Thursday from 7 a.m. - 10 a.m.   M&M conference is held each week at 7 a.m., Grand Rounds are held every other Thursday at 8 a.m., and Core Conference is held every Thursday at 9 a.m.

Rotations

Although the order of PGY 1-3 rotations varies from year to year, an example progression follows. We have four-week block rotations equaling 13 blocks.

For further information please contact:
Rhonda Loyd, Residency Program Coordinator
(217) 545-8444
rloyd@siumed.edu