Structured academic continuing education program for vascular surgery in Germany

The training of academic personnel goes beyond the Continuing Medical Education Regulation (WBO). Research and teaching require additional competences and extended curricular contents. After attaining a doctor title, the target of training includes a medical thesis and specialist examination and acquisition of an academic title (PhD) or the habilitation. The additional competences necessary for this academic career must be appropriately incorporated into and mediated during the 6 years of specialized training and beyond. Many modules can be established and mediated in a standardized manner and are therefore valid independent of the location. Appropriate documentation and testing of the curricular implementation are accomplished by means of a logbook. This article presents the proposal of a cross-site jointly structured academic curriculum for physicians being trained as specialists in vascular surgery at university and academic teaching hospitals in Germany.