Brigitte K. Smith, MD, MHPE, FACS, FSVS

Dr. Brigitte Smith is an Associate Professor of Vascular Surgery at the University of Utah, where she also serves as the Vice Chair of Education for the Department of Surgery.  She completed medical school at the University of Wisconsin, where she stayed for integrated vascular surgery residency.  She completed the Association for Surgical Education – Surgical Education Research Fellowship during residency in 2013.  She subsequently earned a Master of Health Professions Education from the University of Illinois – Chicago in 2020.  Dr. Smith holds national leadership positions in the American College of Surgeons, Society for Vascular Surgery, Association of Surgical Education, and Association for Program Directors in Vascular Surgery, and is a Director of the Vascular Surgery Board of the American Board of Surgery. 

Dr. Smith’s research seeks to examine the association between educational variables, including programs, policies, and individual measures of competence, with patient care outcomes in unsupervised practice.  This work has previously been funded by the National Board of Medical Examiners Stemmler Fund.  She also has an interest in optimizing instruction and assessment in health systems science domains, especially quality improvement, and has worked with the American College of Surgeons Advisory Group for the Quality in Training Initiative.  She also serves as the co-chair of the Vascular Quality Initiative Fellow-In-Training program, which seeks to teach vascular trainees QI skills through a national mentorship model.  Her clinical expertise is in the full range of vascular surgical care with an emphasis on complex venous disease.