Medical school and rigorous surgical training traditionally do not include advanced instruction in leadership skills, yet they are integral to achieving career success.

Ruth L. Bush, MD, JD, MPH, knew that despite increases in the number of women entering science and medicine, “few women exist in academic leadership positions.” And though her institution at the time— Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in Temple, Texas — had an executive leadership program, there was nothing specifically for women to navigate leadership in the clinical or academic environment, she said.

A new Quality Council. A new Appropriateness Committee. Task forces exploring workforce shortages in vascular surgery, burnout and wellness, and a vascular center verification program for inpatient and outpatient settings. A new Section within the Society for Vascular Surgery for physician assistants and another in process for Outpatient Vascular Care. A member engagement and networking site. A management home for the Society for Vascular Nursing, Delaware County Vascular Society and Association for Program Directors in Vascular Surgery. An expanded SVS Foundation mission.

Registration is now open for The SVS’s Vascular Research Initiatives Conference (VRIC) 2019. VRIC will be held this year on May 13 in Boston, Mass., the day before the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Vascular Discoveries meeting (previously known as ATVB meeting). VRIC is the premier vascular venue for emerging vascular science and translational research important to vascular patients, and VRIC welcomes both clinicians and clinician scientists interested in developing future therapeutics and devices for vascular patients.

This year’s Vascular Annual Meeting will have a new and elegant air about it, with the introduction of a Gala to benefit the SVS Foundation. It is replacing the traditional President’s Reception, at the request of SVS President Michel S. Makaroun. Dr. Markaroun wants an event to not only celebrate with colleagues but also to benefit a cause close to his heart, the SVS Foundation.

Tickets are $250 each, of which $150 is a tax-deductible contribution to the SVS Foundation’s general Greatest Need Fund.

As I reflect upon the past year, 2018 has certainly made a mark for addressing burnout among medical professionals, enforcing wellness, and targeting implicit and explicit gender bias in medicine and surgery.

The Society for Vascular Surgery® Vascular Quality Initiative® (SVS VQI) recently notched yet another milestone when it welcomed its 500th participating center to the registry. Now, with 513 centers, 500,000 procedures, and 3,000 participating physicians entering cases across 12 different vascular procedures, the VQI has experienced significant growth since its inception in 2011.

 “The Truth About Leadership,” by Barry Posner and James M. Kouzes, describes 10 critical “truths” about leadership. In this latest column highlighting the evidence-based behaviors and attributes that define great leadership, we focus on “The Best Leaders are the Best Learners.”

Q: What propelled you into choosing vascular surgery as a career? And being a lifelong learner, who provided you with the guidance to move forward with your career trajectory?

To coordinate quality issues throughout the Society for Vascular Surgery, the SVS has created a new standing council: the SVS Quality Council.

Through working together, and with the council acting somewhat as the “clearinghouse,” different committees won’t be duplicating efforts on quality issues, said Dr. Larry Kraiss, chair of the new council. “We won’t be working in silos,” he said.

The Board of Directors named members of the new council at its meeting in June.

SVS actively advocates on behalf of SVS members on issues that affect vascular surgery practices. Sometimes this brings positive outcomes for vascular surgeons, such as last month, when devastating cuts in the pricing for the vascular ultrasound room were avoided.

That and other vascular issues were decided in November, when the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services published the 2019 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MFS) and the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (HOPPS) rules.

The water cooler is about to open for conversation.

SVS’ new online water cooler, that is, SVSConnect. Our new online community is the place to be for collaboration, engagement and communication, not to mention enhanced services for our members.

On SVSConnect, members can find and participate in discussions on a wide variety of topics, such as: