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Objective: To survey the SVS membership with regard to practice trends related to work effort, employment status, practice ownership, endovascular cases and anticipated changes in practice in the near future.
Methods: A survey questionnaire was developed to gather information about member demographics and practice, hours worked, full-time (FT) or part-time (PT) status, employment status, practice ownership, competition for referrals, proportion of endovascular versus open procedures and anticipated changes in practice in the next 3 years. We utilized Survey Monkey and distributed the survey to all Vascular Surgeon (VS) members of the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS).
Results: The response rate was 207 of 2,230 (10.7%). Two-thirds are in private practice and 21% are in solo practice. 24% are employed by hospitals/health systems. Vascular Surgeons under the age of 50 were more likely to be in an exclusively vascular surgery practice compared to VS over the age of 50 (p<0.0003). Sixty-eight (32.7%) of the physicians were between 50-59 years old, 186 (90.3%) were men, 192 (92.8%) worked FT (>36 hours of patient care per week) and almost two-thirds worked > 60 hours/week. Those in physician owned practices worked > 40 hours of patient care/week more often than FT employed VS (p<0.012). Younger VS (<age 50) more frequently reported >50% of their workload being endovascular compared to older VS (age >50) (p<0.001). Eighty percent of FT VS planned to continue their current practice over the next three years. Of the 43.6% indicating loss of referrals, 82% pointed to cardiologists as the competition.
Conclusion: The current workforce is predominantly male, full-time and 1/3 is between 50-59 years old. Younger VS (< age 50) are more likely to exclusively practice VS and have a higher caseload of endovascular procedures. Those in physician owned practices are more likely to put in >40 hours of patient care/week than FT employed VS. Longitudinal surveys of SVS members are imperative to help tailor the educational, training and practice management offerings, guide governmental activities, advocate for issues important to members, improve branding initiatives and sponsor workforce analyses.