Increasing early career surgeon engagement in the Society for Vascular Surgery: a report of the Society’s Young Surgeons Section Steering Committee

Abstract

When examining the United States surgical workforce, a shortage of approximately 30,000 surgeons is predicted by 2030. This shortage is attributed to the increasing surgical needs of the nation’s aging population and the increased rate of retirement in the surgeon workforce. As such, the surgeon workforce will rely on Millennials and Generation Z to grow and expand their role in health care. To address these changes, the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) established the Young Surgeons Section (YSS) in 2022 after formal approval by the Society’s Executive Board. The YSS Steering Committee set forth in 2022 with an initial charge focused on identifying the needs of this demographic, beginning to develop educational content focused on early career surgeons, providing and advocating for leadership opportunities within the SVS, and assisting the Society in its membership recruitment efforts. The goal of this report is to provide the context under which the YSS was started, outline the major accomplishments of the Section over its first 2 years, and to begin to discuss the needed next steps for the SVS to ensure continued engagement.