The UCSF Vascular Surgery Interest Group (VSIG) is a diverse community of students, residents, fellows, and faculty who are dedicated to exposing more students to the world of vascular surgery, providing students with resources to foster their interest, and connecting trainees with mentors as well as clinical and research experiences in vascular surgery.
Broad Engagement with Faculty, Residents and Fellows
VSIG is a member organization of the UCSF Surgery Interest Group (SIG), which consists of over a dozen student leaders working with surgery resident and faculty liaisons to plan school-wide events ranging from social “meet-and-greets” and speed-mentoring events to skills labs and surgery elective experiences in the School of Medicine. VSIG brings unique offerings to the table through engaging with vascular surgery residents, fellows, and faculty — all of whom are enthusiastic about connecting with students in both group and one-and-one mentorship settings.
Events and National Reach
VSIG hosts several events throughout the year, including the popular Vascular and Cardiovascular Interventions elective each fall, as well as skills labs led by vascular surgery faculty, fellows, and residents, in which students gain hands-on experience working with a wide array of open and endovascular tools.
As a member chapter of the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS), the UCSF VSIG also connects students with programming on a national level. These include notices for applications open to students, such as for meeting travel awards, research fellowships, and opportunities to present vascular surgery research throughout the year.
Because the UCSF Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery offers both integrated (0+5) and traditional (5+2) vascular surgery training pathways, students have the opportunity to learn about the advantages of each, as well the broad spectrum of what a career in vascular surgery may look like.
Clinical Experiences
The Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery also offers formal clinical experiences, which include a third-year core clerkship (2 weeks out of the 8-week surgery clerkship), a third-year clinical non-core elective (2 weeks, ungraded), and a fourth-year sub-internship experience. Vascular surgery faculty also participate as mentors in the OR Assist elective, in which first-year medical students are paired with a surgery faculty member for a unique guided introduction to the operating room.
VSIG provides resources to students on these clinical rotations to aid in their success and serves as a community in which students may continue developing their interest in vascular surgery following the end of the rotation. Vascular surgery faculty additionally offer personalized shadowing experiences in both the clinic and OR settings beyond these structured experiences.