Duke University Hospital Program

Program Identity & Fit

Duke's 0+5 Integrated Vascular Surgery Residency is a tertiary/quaternary academic program built around a dedicated two-year protected research block, positioning graduates for academic vascular surgery careers while also producing successful private practitioners. Residents operate at high volume across the full spectrum of open and endovascular disease—branched aortic endografting, complex limb salvage, central venous reconstruction—with senior residents functioning as service chiefs at both Duke University Hospital and the Durham VA, indicating a program that expects early autonomy and technical independence. The structure interleaves 18 months of core surgical rotations with 42 months of vascular-specific training, explicitly treating ICU and general surgery exposure as essential rather than peripheral to modern vascular practice. As one of the newer integrated programs nationally, it leans on the depth of Duke's broader surgical department infrastructure (simulation lab, fresh tissue lab, 3D printing lab) and a mentored, funded research pathway to build investigators as well as high-volume proceduralists.