Vascular fellowships and laboratory research

Abstract

Research activity has assumed an increasingly important role in the education of vascular surgeons and appears to exceed that of other graduate training programs. Laboratory research experience is an integral part of 42 (71%) of the 59 current vascular surgery training programs approved by ACGME-Residency Review Committee. Among existing laboratory experiences, 18 (43%) are fully integrated with research programs in the preclinical basic sciences. Laboratory experience in 30 programs (58%) precedes the obligatory 12-month clinical training program and is 1 year in duration.

Has the changing nature of vascular surgery adversely affected scholarly activity

“…First, there is a tradition of research among vascular surgeons. In his 1991 report on vascular fellowships and laboratory research, Stanley 5 noted that, as vascular surgery emerged as a distinct clinical discipline, emphasis was placed on investigative research. At the time, a majority of vascular surgery training programs included bench research as an integral component.…”

Presidential address: Passing the torch—The molecular biology of a profession

“…In a similar manner, our "academic" vascular training programs offer an extra year of research, which is often the first oppornmity that the residents have ever had in the experimental laboratory. 16 I do not feel that the Dlost competitive leaders in vascular Presidential address 9 surgical science can be spawned from postgraduate training fellowships in which the first exposure to creative endeavor follows general surgical training.…”

Reviving the vascular surgeon–scientist: An interim assessment of the jointly sponsored Lifeline Foundation/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute William J. von Liebig Mentored Clinical Scientist Development (K08) Program

“…During the past decade, leaders in the field of vascular surgery have expressed concerns about the viability of research conducted by vascular surgeons, citing diminished federal funding for vascular surgery research, declining involvement of vascular surgeons in laboratory-based investigations, and diminished academic productivity. [1][2][3][4][5][6] Similar concerns have been raised by others in the surgical community on the fate of the surgeon-scientist, [7][8][9][10][11] and physicianscientists have warned of more general trends indicating a broad decline in laboratory research conducted by clinically trained individuals. [12][13][14][15][16][17][18] Despite efforts to alter these trends, academic medical centers have simultaneously faced increasing financial challenges in supporting research career development for clinically trained individuals, and the competition for extramural research funding has continued to grow more rigorous.…”