Harmonization of vascular surgical training in Europe. A task for the European Board of Vascular Surgery (EBVS)

The competence of vascular surgeons defined as the level of skill, knowledge and experience necessary to safely perform vascular surgical procedures is determined to a high degree by the quality of the preceding training. In Europe, quality assurance of vascular surgical training, unlike in the USA, is not uniform and is not the responsibility of a centralized European authority, but is a matter in which the different countries have autonomous regulations. Consequently, different targets for duration, contents and general principles for training in vascular surgery have been set. Although in the past this may not have been a problem, the unification of countries in the European Community (EC), at present known as the European Union (EU), has changed this perspective because there is increasing impetus towards a mutual recognition of trade and education between member states. In 1975, EC directive 75/362 was adopted, which insured 'freedom of migration' for medical doctors along with many other professional trades (Publications of the European Communities no. L167, 30-6-1975, p. 1). This directive implicated that certificates, diplomas and other documents issued by the national competent authorities proving medical qualification allowed physicians to practice in any EU country. In order to make this law practical it seems essential that specialist training programmes throughout the EU should conform to certain agreed basic standards. The objective of this article is to present an overview on the current pattern of vascular surgical training in Europe. In addition, the structures that were established during the recent years to promote uniformly high standards of training in vascular surgery throughout the EU will be discussed.