Fellowship Goals and Objectives

Overview

Vascular Surgery is the surgical specialty involving diseases of the arterial, venous, and lymphatic circulatory systems, exclusive of those circulatory vessels intrinsic to the heart and intracranial vessels. Specialists in this discipline must demonstrate not only the knowledge, skills, and understanding of the medical science relative to the vascular system, but also the acquisition of mature technical skills and surgical judgment. 

Organizational Structure

The Vascular Surgery Fellowship is an integrated division of the Department of Surgery and provides educational experience to both Surgery residents and Vascular Surgery fellows of the University of Tennessee College of Medicine-Chattanooga. Graduate Medical Education for the program is overseen in its entirety by the Chair of the Department of Surgery. Specific teaching structure and procedures regarding vascular surgery are implemented by the Vascular Surgery Program Director with the assistance of the department's Graduate Medical Education committee.

The core vascular surgery faculty practice general and vascular surgery and the breadth of related procedures. The Department of Surgery provides faculty and resident administrative support through the University of Tennessee College of Medicine-Chattanooga and Erlanger Health System.

General Competencies

The six general competency areas developed by the ACGME have been incorporated into the overall curriculum of the Department of Surgery. These general competencies are also part of resident/fellow evaluations:

• • Patient care
  • Medical knowledge
  • Practice-based learning and improvement
  • Interpersonal and communication skills
  • Professionalism
  • Systems-based practice
    

Scheduled Conferences

Didactic conferences are fully integrated in the General Surgery Residency and frequently involve vascular surgery, vascular medicine, or endovascular topics. The Friday morning conference is focused on vascular topics. These include:

• • Basic Science Conference: Tuesday mornings
  • Grand Rounds: Wednesday mornings
  • Morbidity & Mortality Conference: Thursday mornings
  • Vascular Case Conference: Friday mornings
  • Journal Club: monthly

Teaching Rounds

Vascular surgery teaching rounds are conducted by the senior Vascular Resident every morning. This includes walking rounds, arteriogram presentations, and bedside teaching. 

Vascular Journals Available to Residents

The following journals are available to fellows, residents, and medical students to assist with their didactic training in vascular surgery:

• • Annals of Surgery
  • Annals of Vascular Surgery
  • Journal of the American College of Surgeons
  • Journal of Endovascular Surgery
  • Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology
  • Journal of Vascular Surgery
  • New England Journal of Medicine
  • Seminars in Vascular Surgery