SVN offers vascular nurses a professional home

Vascular patients are complex, their conditions are often invisible to the untrained eye and the nurses who care for them are too frequently working without a specialized community to lean on. The Society for Vascular Nursing (SVN) was built to change that and after more than four decades, it remains the only national organization dedicated specifically to nurses and advanced practice providers (APPs) in the vascular space. 

The SVN draws members from across the vascular care spectrum, including interventional cardiology, interventional radiology, vascular surgery, peripheral artery disease management and stroke nursing. With approximately 400 members split roughly 60/40 between APPs and registered nurses, the organization has grown well beyond its nursing-only origins into a broad professional home for clinicians who share a focus on vascular disease. 

“The purpose is to have a national society that comes together where we can all learn from each other, educate, help patients, have webinars, develop patient education materials and learn how to be speakers — all in a way that’s meaningful and collaborative,” said Suzanna Fitzpatrick, DNP, ACNP-BC, FNP-BC, president of the SVN and a senior nurse practitioner at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. “The SVN has a wide variety of participants.” 

The organization’s annual conference, held in the days preceding the Society for Vascular Surgery’s annual meeting, is a core gathering point for members spread across the country. But the SVN’s programming extends beyond that single event. Members have access to the Journal of Vascular Nursing, a peer-reviewed bi-monthly publication written largely by nurses and APPs, as well as a robust library of webinars covering both disease-specific clinical education and professional development topics. 

“From a research standpoint, we have the Journal of Vascular Nursing, where you can submit, be a peer reviewer, or read it as a membership benefit,” said Fitzpatrick. “Our webinars can range from professional development and research to a specific vascular condition and nursing-specific education. We also collaborate with other organizations throughout the country, so if we want to focus on wounds, feet, or aortas, we have that collaborative ability.” 

One of the SVN’s most practical offerings is its vascular boot camp, a core curriculum designed for nurses entering the vascular field. Fitzpatrick noted that standard nursing and nurse practitioner programs provide very little vascular-specific training, leaving new clinicians to fill significant knowledge gaps on the job. The SVN also offers patient education resources, including visual aids that help explain vascular conditions to patients, who often struggle to grasp what is happening inside their bodies. 

That deeper clinical knowledge, Fitzpatrick said, has measurable downstream effects on patient outcomes. 

“Having a nurse who is specialized in vascular care and has a deep understanding of that patient population can make a real difference,” said Fitzpatrick. “It can improve patient satisfaction, medication compliance, outpatient follow-up, continuity of care and overall care delivery inside the hospital. A deeper understanding of vascular conditions is only going to help a nurse who is working on a vascular floor.” 

For nurses on the fence about joining the SVN, Fitzpatrick pointed to something beyond education: the value of professional community, especially in a post-pandemic environment where nursing retention and burnout have become defining challenges for the field. 

“If you’re considering joining, you should,” said Fitzpatrick. “It’s a great place not just to meet people, but to meet people who really care about the work you’re doing. Having a space where we can be together, learn from each other, ask questions thoughtfully and feel supported and included is a wonderful thing.” 

Fitzpatrick also spoke from personal experience. She joined the vascular field six years ago, arrived with gaps in her knowledge and found in the SVN exactly the kind of environment she needed to grow. That experience shapes how she thinks about the organization’s value, not just for new clinicians, but for experienced ones who might still wrestle with self-doubt. 

“Many of us have imposter syndrome, feeling like we can’t do enough, don’t know enough, or aren’t smart enough to be in the room,” said Fitzpatrick. “Being with the SVN’s board of directors and society members at the conference reminds you how important this work is and that we all have the ability to grow together. The people we’re surrounded by are incredibly accomplished and it’s empowering to see that with learning, education and pushing forward, you can become anything you want to be.”