Background
Vascular surgery is facing an impending workforce shortage as the population ages
and the demand for vascular surgical services increases. The integrated vascular surgery
residency (0+5) paradigm is well-established and provides a mechanism to increase
the number of board-certified vascular surgeons. Recruitment of medical students to
these programs has proven challenging with unfilled positions in each of the past
2 years. The aim of this study is to explore factors that influence medical students’
interest in vascular surgery and their decision to ultimately pursue a career in the
field.
Methods
Medical students listed on the Society for Vascular Surgery “Find a VSIG (Vascular
Surgery Interest Group)” webpage were contacted via email to participate in the study.
A snowball sampling technique was employed to recruit additional participants, including
recent medical school graduates who had matched into a 0+5 program. Fifteen students
participated in 5 focus groups. Directed content analysis was employed to qualitatively
analyze focus group transcripts.
Results
Five domains were identified as influencing students’ decision to pursue vascular
surgery. Experiential learning facilitated early exploration of the field. The intellectuality of the specialty was a feature that attracted students to vascular surgery. In addition,
the professional identify of vascular surgeons as comprehensive care providers was appealing. Students identified
with their mentors’ relationships as observed during clinical encounters. Long-term mentorship was important in sustaining students’ interest.
Conclusion
Medical students pursue a career in vascular surgery based on early exposure to the
specialty, experiential learning through hands-on VSIG events, clinical experiences,
and longitudinal faculty mentorship. The unique aspects of the specialty, including
professional identity and intellectuality, should be highlighted to both attract and
maintain students’ interest in the field. These findings can be used by national vascular
surgery leaders, practicing vascular surgeons, and faculty and student leadership
of VSIGs to optimize recruitment programs and increase the vascular surgery workforce.
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to Annals of Vascular SurgeryAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
REFERENCES
- Vascular surgery training in the United States: a half-century of evolution.J Vasc Surg. 2008; 48 (90S-97S)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvs.2008.07.090
- Increasing the number of integrated vascular surgery residency positions is important to address the impending shortage of vascular surgeons in the United States.J Vasc Surg. 2018; 67: 1618-1625https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvs.2017.12.031
- An updated physician workforce model predicts a shortage of vascular surgeons for the next 20 years.Ann Vasc Surg. 2020; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avsg.2020.01.097
National Resident Matching Program, Advance Data Tables: 2020 Main Residency Match®. National Resident Matching Program, Washington, DC. https://mk0nrmp3oyqui6wqfm.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Advance-Data-Tables-2020.pdf Published April 2020. [Accessed date June 1, 2020].
National Resident Matching Program, Results and Data: 2019 Main Residency Match®. National Resident Matching Program, Washington, DC. https://mk0nrmp3oyqui6wqfm.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/NRMP-Results-and-Data-2019_04112019_final.pdf Published 2019. [Accessed date June 1, 2020].
- Choice of vascular surgery as a specialty: survey of vascular surgery residents, general surgery chief residents, and medical students.J Vasc Surg. 2004; 40: 978-984https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvs.2004.08.036
- The state of vascular surgery interest groups in North America.Ann Vasc Surg. 2021; 71 (Feb;Epub 2020 Aug 8. PMID: 32781261): 230-236https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avsg.2020.07.044
- Practical Guide to Qualitative Analysis.JAMA Surg. 2020; 155 (Mar 1;PMID: 31995144): 252-253https://doi.org/10.1001/jamasurg.2019.4385
- Using focus groups in medical education research: AMEE Guide No. 91.Med Teach. 2014; 36: 923-939https://doi.org/10.3109/0142159X.2014.917165
- Three approaches to qualitative content analysis.Qualitative Health Res. 2005; 15: 1277-1288https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732305276687
- A Review of Mentoring in Academic Medicine.Am J Med Sci. 2017; 353: 151-157https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjms.2016.12.002
- Investigating the factors influencing professional identity of first-year health and social care students.Learning in Health and Social Care. 2006; 5: 55-68https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1473-6861.2006.00119
Article Info
Publication History
Published online: December 18, 2021
Accepted:
November 17,
2021
Received in revised form:
November 7,
2021
Received:
September 18,
2021
Identification
Copyright
© 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
