Demand For Integrated Vascular Residency Training Outweighs Positions

Main Category: Vascular
Also Included In: Medical Students / Training
Article Date: 13 Jun 2009 - 2:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   view / write opinions   rate article

The number of talented and motivated applicants for integrated vascular training programs far outweighs available positions according to a new, four-year study by researchers from the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester.

Between 2006 and 2009 traditional fellowship applications (five years of general surgery followed by two years of vascular surgery) and the corresponding number of positions remained stable increasing only slightly from 112 to 116, for an average of 1.2 applicants for each position.

"In contrast, the number of available integrated residency positions (five years of combined general surgery and vascular surgery) increased from 0 to 19 in the last four-year period with a total of 152 applicants in 2009 seeking these limited number of positions," said Andres Schanzer, MD, assistant professor in the division of vascular and endovascular surgery. "The average ratio of demand to supply for the integrated residents over the last two years (for which complete data was available) is 9.4 applicants to every one available position."

Data for the study, presented at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the Society for Vascular Surgery®, were collected from the Association of American Medical Colleges. Variables included age, gender, race, citizenship, current residence, and educational factors relating to both undergraduate and medical training. Test scores (United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) and Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates), and data pertaining to the number of accredited programs, available positions, and number of applicants, also were obtained. Additionally, 111 applications received at the University of Massachusetts Medical School Integrated Vascular Surgery Residency for the 2009 matriculation cycle were reviewed in depth by two independent, blinded data abstractors.

Researchers said that the most notable difference between integrated and traditional applicants is the number of foreign medical graduates (68.7 percent vs. 26.7 percent in 2008). "Nonetheless, of the 111 integrated applicants applying for the single position at our institution (72 percent of the entire 2009 applicant pool), 88.3 percent are residing in the United States," noted Dr. Schanzer.

Additional data revealed that a total of 25.2 percent of applicants completed one or more years at a United States institution for research or a general surgery preliminary year. Integrated applicants' mean USMLE Step 1 and 2 scores were 89.1 and 89.5, and on average, an integrated applicant had published 2.8 peer-reviewed publications.

"Growing interest in more efficient and comprehensive training will continue to augment demand for integrated vascular residency training," said Dr. Schanzer. "As educators, vascular surgeons should seize this opportunity and aggressively expand the number of available positions."

Source: Society for Vascular Surgery