Vascular Training Profiles across Europe

Background The European Vascular Surgeons in Training (EVST) were appointed by the European Society for Vascular Surgery to review the current status and developments regarding training and certification in vascular surgery (VS) across Europe. Methods An e-mail-based survey was distributed to EVST representatives in 33 countries. The questionnaire examined the current structure of vascular surgery training and certification (monospecialty, subspecialty, no specialty), as well as the evolving revisions of national curricula. Questionnaires were returned from 31 countries, two of which implement two training models. Results Vascular surgery (VS) as a monospecialty is the leading training model in 18 out of 31 countries, nine countries follow the subspecialty model, and six countries have no accredited vascular programs. The mean duration of dedicated VS training in monospecialty is significantly longer compared with subspecialty (3.8 vs. 2.9 years, p = .036) or no specialty models (3.8 vs. 1 years, p