BWH Vascular and Endovascular Surgery Fellowship

Overview

The BWH Vascular and Endovascular Surgery Fellowship provides comprehensive training in the full spectrum of vascular surgical procedures, including open vascular surgery, endovascular interventions, and hybrid approaches. Based at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, the program trains fellows in the management of arterial, venous, and lymphatic diseases.

Curriculum

The fellowship is structured to provide fellows with exposure to the breadth of vascular pathology, as well as developing a strong clinical foundation, with an emphasis on clinical independence and autonomy. We match one to two fellows per year, who each rotate between open and endovascular rotations, as well as rotations at our affiliated community hospital South Shore, Interventional Cardiology, Interventional Nephrology, Vascular Medicine, Vascular Lab and professional development time. Fellows also participate in spine exposures at the nearby and eminent orthopedic Baptist Hospital. Our first- and second-year fellows rotate between these rotations and share responsibility for patient care. Call is every third night and every third weekend and is split evenly between the fellows, who take calls from home. Fellows are provided with lead and leaded goggles.

The division maintains a number of educational conferences, both targeted specifically at the fellows, as well as the Brigham general surgery trainees and Harvard Medical students. A dedicated fellow teaching conference mirrors the recommendations for the clinical and basic science curriculum laid out by the Association of Program Directors in Vascular Surgery (APDVS). Conference is taught by world leaders in the fields of vascular surgery, vascular medicine, cardiac surgery, vascular radiology and nephrology.

Fellows are responsible for organizing a weekly division conference with rotating topics, including Indications Conference, Journal Club, Division Morbidity and Mortality Conference, topic specific teaching, research talks and invited speakers.

The division also joins a number of multidisciplinary conferences supported by the Brigham, including Aortic Conference and Vascular Medicine Conference.

Regional and National Meetings:

Fellows are expected to attend and present at regional and national meetings, supported by the division, including:

• Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) Vascular Annual Meeting
• New England Society for Vascular Surgery (NESVS)
• Society for Clinical Vascular Surgery Annual Symposium
• VEITHsymposium
• Wesley Moore Review Course

Research Experience

Fellows are expected to participate in scholarly activity with the goal of regional or national presentation. Prior fellows have pursued outcomes research, translational science and app development. Access is available to a number of national and local databases, including VQI, NSQIP, Medicare and NIS datasets, as well as locally maintained retrospective data. Statistical support is available within the division, as well as through the Brigham Department of Surgery Center for Surgery and Public Health (CSPH).

How to Apply

Applications for the 2028-2030 fellowship year are being accepted November 2026 through January 2027 from physicians who will have completed a five-year ACGME-accredited general surgery residency by August 1, 2028.

The vascular fellowship position is filled via the Vascular Surgery Match sponsored by the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP). All applicants must submit completed applications through the AAMC Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS). We cannot accept any additional supporting documents by email or mail.

All applicants must register with the NRMP in addition to submitting an application to our program. Applicants participate in the vascular match during their general surgery PGY-4 year, matching for a position to begin following completion of their PGY-5 year.

Applicants may contact the Surgery Education Office at surgeryeducation@bwh.harvard.edu with questions.

All applicants for the 2028–2030 fellowship year must have completed an ACGME-accredited General Surgery Residency by August 1, 2028. We require the following documents to be available for download through ERAS for a complete application to be reviewed:

• Curriculum vitae (CV)
• Medical school transcript
• Personal statement
• Dean's letter
• Three letters of recommendation
• USMLE transcript
• ABS in-training exam scores

Each application is reviewed in its entirety with a focus toward a combination of overall academic excellence, leadership ability, career development potential and personal character.

We interview approximately 15 to 20 candidates for the vascular surgery program each year. Although we receive applications from many well-qualified candidates, it is not possible to interview all who apply. Every effort is made to notify applicants of their interview status in a timely manner. We will hold interviews in Spring 2027.

Program Director

Marcus Semel, MD: Instructor, Harvard Medical School, Vascular and Endovascular Surgery