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Residency Program

 

The Division of Vascular Surgery at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is proud to offer a fully accredited  5-year integrated residency program, which residents enter directly from medical school. Students at North American medical schools may apply for the program through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS).

Trainees would devote three years to vascular surgery and two years to core surgical training. The curriculum would include rotations in general surgery, vascular interventional radiology, cardiothoracic surgery, and the peripheral vascular lab – this provides residents with a robust experience that will help build a career as a future vascular surgeon. The program has been designed to balance both the endovascular and open aspects of vascular surgery, with extensive exposure to cases ranging from the typical to the complex. Completion of the program will lead to certification by the American Board of Surgery in Vascular Surgery.

Our program’s structure is designed to establish the core surgical skills and techniques, followed by detailed and progressive training in vascular surgery. The training program offers graduated responsibility throughout all five years with the last two years being “fellow” status. As residents gain knowledge and technical ability, the level of autonomy continues to increase, with the goal of 5th year residents being able to operate independently.

Residents are expected to review the goals and objectives for each rotation. When a resident does not meet the goals and objectives for a particular rotation, the resident is counseled by that service, offered advice for remediation, and the resident meets with the program director, where a program for remediation will be determined and will be monitored by the residency program director and the resident’s adviser.

We believe that our program develops well-rounded and capable vascular surgeons who are able to perform the breadth of vascular surgery and be highly successful right out of training.

Eligibility

Eligible applicants will be considered based on their preparedness, ability, aptitude, academic credentials, communication skills, and personal qualities such as motivation and integrity. The Division of Vascular Surgery will not discriminate with regard to sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, disability, or veteran status.

An applicant must be a graduate of a medical school in the United States and Canada accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), or must be an international medical school graduate who has ECFMG certification.

How to Apply

The Division of Vascular Surgery at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a participating member of the National Resident Matching Program and accepts applications only through the ERAS system. To apply:

AND

  • Register with the National Residency Matching Program, Vascular Application, available at www.nrmp.org

Clinical Research

The Division has an active clinical trials program, and its vast case volume offers ample opportunity for conducting prospective and retrospective clinical studies. The vascular resident is expected to participate in research projects leading to presentations at national meetings and to write peer-reviewed publications.

Conferences and Seminars

There are two major teaching conferences during the week: Wednesday morning between 7:30 and 8:30 AM and Friday morning between 7:30 and 9 AM. This is protected time for the trainees with no cases going on during this time.

Friday Morning Vascular Conference: At this weekly Friday morning conference, the vascular surgery resident will be responsible for the presentation of cases and review of the literature pertaining to the full spectrum of vascular surgery topics. Special focus will be given to preoperative evaluation, surgical decision-making and planning, and interpretation of exams. Additionally, pre and postoperative cases will be reviewed as well as morbidity and mortality that occurs on the service.

Morbidity and Mortality Conference: All morbidity and mortality occurring on the vascular service will be presented at our Wednesday morning conference.

Non-invasive Vascular Laboratory Conference: The peripheral vascular lab technologists will lead this bi-weekly Wednesday morning conference. The primary focus is on the interpretation of laboratory studies and will include vascular laboratory technologists and the medical director of the laboratory.

Journal Club: This will occur monthly at one of the Friday Morning Conferences. Attendings will select journal articles to discuss.

Quality Initiative Conference: This will occur 

monthly and we will discuss methods to improve outcomes in our procedures. We are active participants in the Carolinas Group of the SVS Vascular Quality Initiative.

Research Meeting: We will have a monthly research meeting to go over both clinical trials as well as research projects that the faculty and residents are participating in.

Annual Symposia: At least one formal conference hosted by the UNC division of Vascular Surgery is held each year at Pinehurst, NC. UNC vascular surgeons, interventional radiologists, neurologists, and hematologists as well as national figures in the field of vascular surgery participate as invited speakers. www.endovasculartherapies.com

On-Call Coverage

The resident on the “open” services shares on-call responsibilities with the resident on the “percutaneous” service, averaging one night in two. A senior general resident is in the house at night for initial evaluation of vascular consults. Guidelines for the 80-hour work-week are strictly adhered to.

Vascular Laboratory

The peripheral vascular lab is an integral part of vascular surgery training. The lab performs a wide variety of studies involving peripheral, mesenteric, renal, and cerebrovascular. The lab is ICAVL accredited and employs 6 full-time and 2 part-time technologists. Over 13,000 procedures are performed each year, all of which are interpreted by the Division of Vascular Surgery. There is a weekly PVL conference focusing on ultrasound technology and physics, interpretation and clinical application. The vascular resident will be expected to become proficient in these areas and be qualified to take the Registered Physician in Vascular Interpretation (RPVI) Exam upon completion of residency.

Take a Virtual Tour

 

Upcoming Tour Dates

Nov. 3, 2023   |   Dec. 1, 2023

More Information

UNC Division of Vascular Surgery Residency Coordinator:

Ezequiel Parodi, MD, is director of the Vascular Surgery Residency at UNC Hospitals. His email address: ezequiel_parodi@med.unc.edu