Health Service Categories and Careers

A-Z OF SERVICES

Vascular Surgery involves the specialist care of patients with vascular disease and disorders of the blood vessels and lymphatic system (excluding the brain and heart), including diabetes, blockages in the arteries or veins, blood clots, aneurysms, varicose veins, graft infections, among others. It involves clinical assessment, diagnosis and treatment - both surgical and non-surgical. It is underpinned by internal medicine, but further studies the basic sciences, including anatomy, pathology and physiology, which relate to the vascular system. It studies diagnoses of vascular conditions, including application of diagnostic tools and medical imaging, professionalism and ethics, and preoperative and perioperative assessment and management of patients. Surgical management includes endoluminal techniques, vascular access procedures, interventional procedures, management of trauma, wound healing, and pre, peri and post -operative care. Vascular surgery aims to improve the flow of circulation through the body, reduce vascular disease complications, and improve health. Surgery examples include bypass operations, stenting and angioplasty, minimally invasive catheter procedures and surgical reconstruction. To provide appropriate patient care, Vascular Surgery interacts with other medical and surgical specialties, such as Cardiothoracic Surgery, Cardiology, Diabetes Medicine, Interventional Radiology, Renal Medicine, Stroke Medicine and Transplant Surgery. Vascular surgery includes both acute and elective surgery and is practiced in both emergency and outpatient settings.

Vascular Surgery Jobs

Vascular Surgeons provide services which assess, diagnose, manage, treat and prevent vascular disease and other conditions which affect the blood vessels and lymphatic system. They provide clinical management of patients with acute and/or chronic vascular disorders. Vascular Surgeons perform diagnostic tests, including vascular assessments, angiograms, ultrasounds, and duplex scans. They create management plans for patients, which can involve surgical and non-surgical procedures, education and nutrition, pharmacology, collaboration with other medical specialists, such as anaesthetists, and pre, peri and post-operative assessment and care by multi-disciplinary teams. They perform vascular surgery procedures safely and appropriately, including minimally invasive techniques such as coronary angioplasty, stenting, and atherectomy, as well as major surgeries such as a thrombectomy or arterial bypass. To pursue a career as a Vascular Surgeon, registered doctors from PGY3+ can apply to undertake the SET training program in Vascular Surgery, a 5-year program administered by RACS and the Australian and New Zealand Society for Vascular Surgery (ANZSVS), and which leads to Fellowship and Specialist Registration with AHPRA.

Registrars (Vascular Surgery) are registered doctors who have completed their medical degree and pre-vocational training (internship and residency/PGY2-3). They have attained general registration with AHPRA and can now undertake specialist/or vocational training positions to broaden and refine their scope of practice and gain experience, skills and competency in their chosen area of medicine. Registrars are very important members of the integrated and multi-disciplinary health care team. They have increasing responsibility for patient care, oversee and support junior doctors and staff, participate in professional development activities and continue to receive important guidance, training, and support from senior staff. They work in a range of primary, secondary, tertiary, clinical, laboratory and acute care settings, in hospitals, private practices and community clinics. Registered doctors at this level can further their career as Hospital Doctors or Career Medical Officers or pursue a medical specialty with further training and specialist registration. Registrars who want to pursue a career in general surgery, or a surgical specialty, can undertake advanced training with RACS. Surgical registrars work under general surgeons/specialist surgeon consultants and develop procedural skills, surgical techniques, clinical expertise, and valuable work experience in providing medical care, and surgical and non-surgical management of patients with conditions relating to their surgical specialty.

Registrar (Intensive care)

Registrar (Cardiology)

Nurse (Critical care)

Nurse (Peri-operative)