Curriculum

Fellows receive individualized Vascular Surgery training at the University of Vermont. We pride ourselves on the one-on-one interaction between fellow and attending. Our individualized training program provides education through clinical rotations, conferences and a didactic curriculum.

Clinical Rotations

The fellowship is organized so that interventional procedures, open surgery, inpatient and outpatient care, and vascular laboratory instruction are integrated throughout both years of the fellowship. Clinical and operative training proceeds progressively throughout the two years. First year fellows complete a dedicated rotation in Venous Disease and the Non-invasive Vascular Lab which provides a sound foundation in these important areas of vascular practice.

Fellows perform peripheral, renal, mesenteric, great vessel and carotid artery interventions as well as vena cava filter placement, thrombolysis, and endovascular abdominal and thoracic aneurysm repair. Open surgery includes a wide variety of procedures including carotid endarterectomy, open AAA repair, suprainguinal and infrainguinal bypass, dialysis access and venous surgery. All fellowship clinical training occurs at the Medical Center Campus in Burlington, Vermont with some ambulatory surgery experience at the Fanny Allen Campus, three miles to the east.

A diverse outpatient experience is provided in the UVM Medical Center Ambulatory Care Clinic attached to the main hospital, including a dedicated fellows' clinic.

Vascular laboratory training is provided in an IAC-accredited vascular laboratory administered by the Division of Vascular Surgery and located within the outpatient Ambulatory Care Center. The David Pilcher Noninvasive Vascular Lab performs approximately 7,000 studies annually. Fellows obtain hands-on duplex scanning experience and participate in didactic sessions designed to prepare the fellow for the Registered Physician in Vascular Interpretation (RPVI) examination.

Volumes and Procedures

The University of Vermont Medical Center is a 562-bed tertiary care facility and the only academic hospital in the State of Vermont. The UVM Medical Center is part of seven hospital network serving a catchment population of approximately one million patients in Vermont and upstate New York. Six board-certified surgeons staff our vascular service at the UVM Medical Center.

Volume on the service last year was approximately 2,600 discharges, 5,700 outpatient visits, 700 open operations and 250 procedures in the interventional suite. Fellows can expect to perform a sufficient volume of procedures to gain proficiency and meet credentialing requirements. Fellows are encouraged to act as teaching residents for more junior residents during the later phase of their training.