Frank J. Veith, MD Philosophies to a Successful Career Path

Throughout his professional career, it was not uncommon for Dr. Veith to converse with many young international vascular surgeons who hope they could be as successful as Dr. Veith.

Frank Veith is a humble vascular surgeon. He would smile and respond saying that in order to be a successful physician, surgeon, and leader, you have to make sacrifices.  Some of those sacrifices include being away from family, or not seeing them as often as one should.  He would reply “You have to go against the grain” and challenge what you see, hear and read, including those opinions rendered in authored articles in peer-reviewed journals.

Dr. Veith challenged many colleagues oer the years. He did go against the grain and was often labeled a maverick.  When asked to lecture on the subject of what makes a good vascular surgeon and leader, he provided a great deal of information so others could benefit. These are his words of wisdom.

  • Start research projects and finish them!
  • Engage with a group or Division of Vascular Surgery.  It is hard to become a star alone.
  • Work to develop good relationships with peers and your superior.
  • Be generous with your time, and share your experiences with others.
  • Perfect your writing and speaking skills. A well-written manuscript will be accepted by the journal editor if organized and intelligent.
  • Publish, publish, publish!
  • Be a first-rate clinician and exercise good judgment to avoid harming patients.
  • Collect patient data and record it intelligently, honestly in a well-organized fashion.
  • Participate in a worthy society that represents your interests, and get involved!
  • Submit abstracts to present your work at society and other continuing medical education meetings.
  • Get good endovascular training and participate in, preferably lead device trials.
  • Stick with an area in Vascular Surgery that compliments your skills and which may not be of prime interest to all others.
  • Try to predict which area is going to become the topic de jour and get into it early.
  • Perfect and focus on your skills.
  • Become an outstanding and committed educator and mentor.
  • Affiliate yourself with an academic institution that gives you an opportunity to shine and has a wealth of clinical material.
  • Outwork your competition.
  • Minimize your ego.

Continuing Medical Education (CME)

LAs an educator and invited guest speaker throughout the globe, Dr. Veith has instilled the importance of completing CME activities. His views? Textbooks alone are not enough. They are outdated while online CME has its limitations and restrictions and not enough time to get all the facts. Dr. Veith is of the opinion that attending a live on-site continuing medical education activity not only offers the attendee an opportunity to network with faculty but also to become familiar and comfortable with medical devices and technologies used to treat patients with vascular disease. This formula of success is the key in maintaining success in a Vascular Surgery practice.