Specialist title in Angiology

The SSA is responsible for residency training in the specialty of angiology. Postgraduate and continuing education is an obligation under the Medical Profession Act (MedBG), controlled by the SIWF.

After graduation, physicians complete advanced training, which they usually conclude with a professional qualification for a specialty. The angiology postgraduate training enables physicians to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to work in the field of vascular medicine on their own competence, both in the outpatient and in the inpatient sector.

Content

Angiology deals with all diseases of blood and lymphatic vessels in terms of epidemiology, diagnostics, treatment, and prevention. For non-invasive diagnostics, the angiologist uses duplex sonography and various methods for measuring arterial, venous and lymphatic flow. The therapeutic spectrum of angiology includes, in addition to the pharmaceutical, exercise, and lifestyle treatment of vascular diseases, catheter-based interventions for deep venous and arterial occlusions, but also for vascular malformations and aneurysms. In the field of venous diseases, minimally invasive methods are employed to treat venous insufficiency. Furthermore, angiology deals with the prevention and treatment of venous thromboembolism,and prevention of cardiovascular diseases..

Program

Duration

Angiology training lasts six years and is structured as follows: a specialist training of 3-4 years in angiology, a non-specialist training in general internal medicine of 2 years as well asa maximum of one year in another clinical specialty: dermatology and venereology, vascular surgery, hematology, cardiac and thoracic vascular surgery, cardiology, radiology or rheumatology. A minimum of one year of specialty-specific clinical training in angiology must be completed in a Category A training site. At least one additional year must be completed in a different training site. A maximum of one year of cumulative research or MD-PhD training may be credited during the entire training period.

Postgraduate training centers

The postgraduate training centers are categorized into two categories based on an established set of criteria:

Category A (2 years): These are angiology clinics or departments at university hospitals or university teaching or partner hospitals.
Category B (2 years): Angiology institutions at hospitals that provide primary or secondary care.
In addition, medical practices are recognized as training centers too.

Overview postgraduate training centers in Switzerland

Examination

The examination to become a specialist in angiology consists of a written and an oral part.

The written part is a multiple-choice examination with 80 questions to be answered within 120 minutes. The examination usually takes place at the annually USGG congress.
The oral-practical part of the examination consists two components: 1. Practical performance of a duplex ultrasound examination in different vascular territories in patients with pathological findings according to standardized checklists with defined criteria; 2.structured oral examination on clinical decision making based on at least two standardized patient cases.

All information on postgraduate training and the latest examination dates can be found on the SIWF website

Important Documents

E-Logbook FMH