title: Perceptions of Integrated Vascular Surgery Fellowship Graduates among Community Vascular Surgeons.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Vascular training includes both integrated residency ("0+5") and postresidency fellowship ("5+2") programs. The impact of training models on attitudes toward graduates as prospective hires is incompletely understood, and existing studies have primarily surveyed surgeons from academic centers. We surveyed surgeons who were in active clinical practice but not affiliated with a medical school or training program to compare perceptions of integrated versus postgraduate programs.
  
  
  METHODS
  Vascular surgeons not affiliated with a university-based practice were identified from membership rosters of one regional and one national specialty society and e-mailed an anonymous survey. The survey evaluated respondents' training, practice distribution, general surgery responsibilities, hiring practices, and perception of the integrated and postgraduate trained vascular surgeons. Agreement among specific responses was evaluated using McNemar's test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The survey was sent to 406 surgeons with 71 (17.5%) responding. A total of 42% of respondents indicated that half or more of their cases consisted of open procedures and 10% reported general surgery coverage as part of their practice. More respondents indicated that they consider postgraduate trained surgeons very mature (41% vs. 7%, P < 0.0001) and better prepared for open cases (89% vs. 28%, P < 0.0001), as well as endovascular cases (96% vs. 87%, P = 0.0339). Overall 84% stated that they would interview an integrated program graduate, although only 72% indicated that they would hire one. Overall 16.9% identified ability to cover general surgery as either very important or somewhat important characteristic for a potential hire.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Perceptions of 5+2 graduates as more mature and better prepared for opens surgical cases may influence hiring practices. This suggests that attitudes toward integrated versus 5+2 trained surgeons may differ between academic and community vascular surgeons. Further research is needed to assess whether these differences are related to actual differences in graduate skills, familiarity with integrated graduates, or other factors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston Salem, NC. Electronic address: lpeterso@wakehealth.edu.
authors.forename: Laura A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Peterson
authors.affiliation: Department of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston Salem, NC.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Avise
authors.affiliation: Department of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston Salem, NC.
authors.forename: Matthew P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Goldman
authors.affiliation: Department of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston Salem, NC.
authors.forename: Jeanette M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Stafford
authors.affiliation: Department of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston Salem, NC.
authors.forename: Justin B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Hurie
authors.affiliation: Department of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston Salem, NC.
authors.forename: Cristopher J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Godshall
authors.affiliation: Department of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston Salem, NC.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Edwards
authors.affiliation: Department of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston Salem, NC.
authors.forename: Matthew A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Corriere
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002321:Career Choice; D003153:Community Health Services; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate; D005257:Fellowships and Scholarships; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D008297:Male; D010465:Perception; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D013043:Specialties, Surgical; D014481:United States