SVS officer corps on the record: priorities, opportunities and a few revealing facts

President Peter Lawrence—two priorities to drive surgeon and patient education

While in Chicago for an SVS officers retreat, President Peter Lawrence took time to outline his agenda and how he hopes it will take SVS forward.

VS: What agenda priorities have you established for your term?

Dr. Lawrence: There is an opportunity, which should be led by SVS, to see that physicians who treat vascular disease are as well educated as possible, and to make sure patients with vascular disease get great care. So, I\'ll be concentrating in two major areas: making sure the SVS annual meeting is as good it possibly can be and strengthening relationships with other societies, including vascular surgery societies in the U.S., as well as international vascular surgery societies and other non-surgical societies that treat vascular disease as part of their practice.

VS: What changes to the annual meeting are you considering?

Dr. Lawrence: There is clear consensus among SVS leadership that our annual meeting is absolutely first-rate, but there are always opportunities to improve.

For example, we’re looking at new ways to incorporate technology; the possibility of offering maintenance of certification for vascular surgeons at the annual meeting, and how we might be responsive to the interests of subspecialists, such as surgeons whose practices are limited to venous therapies or angio access or only wound care and critical limb ischemia.

VS: How would SVS benefit from reaching out to other societies?

Dr. Lawrence: SVS members are already benefiting greatly from our international outreach. Many of the innovations in devices and in diagnostic and treatment approaches are being developed outside the U.S.—first, because our international colleagues are very talented people, and secondly, because they've had greater access to new devices. We have an opportunity to learn from each other when surgeons from many countries attend our meetings.