Training the next generation of vascular specialists: current status and future perspectives.

Several challenges exist with respect to training the current and next generation of vascular specialists. Current advances in technology have led to changes in the length and type of training required to master new endovascular techniques. At the same time, the number of open surgical cases being provided to trainees may not be sufficient to allow them to manage complex open procedures. This growth is occurring at a time when increased external pressures are being applied to shorten training programs. Finally, the next generation of vascular specialists will come from medical students who are accruing a large educational debt during their course of training. Vascular specialists outside the US have already begun to successfully deal with many of these issues, and insight can be gained from their successes and difficulties. In this article, we review the current status of training for vascular and endovascular specialists and discuss the need for changes in current US training paradigms. While this will touch on initiatives in other specialties, including cardiology, vascular medicine, and interventional and neuroradiology, we will focus primarily on changes that are occurring with respect to the training of surgical specialists who manage vascular disease.