Curriculum
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Clinical rotations
The five-year Integrated Vascular Surgery Residency Program at Mayo Clinic Rochester adopts a mentorship model of training that assigns each resident to a single faculty member (Consultant Vascular Surgery) for either six-week or three-month rotations. During this time, you will be responsible for all operating room cases, outpatient clinics, and inpatient care under the supervision of one Consultant Vascular Surgeon.
This education continuity allows graduated progression of knowledge and technical skills with 1:1 mentorship at all levels of your training. Your clinical training covers all areas of vascular surgery and you will assume increasing responsibility for care pre-operatively, operatively, and post-operatively over the course of your residency.
Residents in the Integrated Vascular Surgery Program are anticipated to meet all required index case numbers and ACGME milestones by the time they enter their Chief Resident year.
During the first 30 months of this residency, you will spend 20 months of core surgical rotations.
- PGY-1
- PGY-2
- PGY-3
- PGY-4/PGY-5
PGY-1
| Rotation | Length |
|---|---|
| Vascular surgery | 5 months |
| General surgery | 3 months |
| Trauma surgery | 1.5 months |
| Plastic surgery | 1.5 months |
| Orthopedic surgery | 1 month |
PGY-2
| Rotation | Length |
|---|---|
| Vascular surgery | 3 months |
| Cardiovascular surgery | 1.5 months |
| General surgery | 3 months |
| Colon & rectal surgery | 1.5 months |
| General surgery - Mankato, MN | 3 months |
PGY-3
| Rotation | Length |
|---|---|
| Vascular surgery | 4.5 months |
| Thoracic surgery | 1.5 months |
| General surgery | 1.5 months |
| General surgery - Mankato, MN | 1.5 months |
| General & vascular surgery - Sioux Falls, SD | 3 months |
PGY-4/PGY-5
During the final two years of residency, you will be the primary resident on a vascular surgery service in a 1:1 mentorship model. You will rotate with all of the consultants over the course of your training.
After doing multiple sub-internships, I was amazed by the volume and complexity of cases at Mayo Clinic, and the autonomy afforded to the residents and fellows. It was truly unlike anywhere else I had seen. There are very few training programs in the country with such a good balance of high volume open intra-abdominal and complex endovascular cases.
Grayson Pitcher, M.D.
Vascular surgery resident
Didactic conferences
The Vascular Surgery Residency educational curriculum includes grand rounds, clinical case conferences, morbidity and mortality conferences, a visiting professor program, endovascular conferences, and procedural skills training.
A robust weekly conference schedule covers the scope of vascular surgery over the course of your training.
Vascular surgery grand rounds
The Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery meets every Tuesday morning for grand rounds.
Vascular surgery conference curriculum
The program provides education time for vascular surgery residents every week for faculty-led, topic-based didactic conference to include:
- Morbidity and Mortality Conference (twice per month)
- Case presentations (twice per month)
- Core curriculum lecture presented by either a vascular surgery resident or fellow or a faculty expert in the subject matter (two to three per month)
- Endovascular conference (meets every Friday morning)
Vascular Surgery Journal Club
Journal Club is held every month. It replaces a Friday endovascular conference with topic-based discussions of articles from the Society of Vascular Surgery Journal.
Microvascular skills lab
Mayo Clinic’s Microvascular Surgery Skills Training Course is a five-day program focused on developing skills in microvascular surgical techniques on a rodent model. All residents take this course in their PGY-3 or early PGY-4 year and will establish the skills necessary for hand-sewn, end-to-end arterial and venous anastomoses.
Workshops
Once per year, the division hosts an Advanced Endovascular Aortic Workshop which includes daily lectures, 3D printed models based on real patient anatomy, and simulation OR time to practice aortic surgery.
Three to four times per year, the division hosts an Iliac Branch Endoprosthesis (IBE) Workshop, which provides an educational experience on the indications and techniques using iliac branch endoprosthesis devices. You have hands on experience with 3D models based on real patient anatomy.
Recent visiting professors for these workshops include:
- Kevin Mani, M.D., Ph.D. (November 2019)
- Professor Michael Jacobs, M.D. (September 2019)
- Kimihiro Komori, M.D., Ph.D., FACS (April 2019)
- Professor Bijan Modarai, Ph.D., FRCS (October 2018)