Program Details
Our education program is designed to reflect the American Council on Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) six core competencies: patient care, medical knowledge, practice-based learning and improvement, interpersonal and communication skills, professionalism, and systems-based practice. Resident evaluation is based on the ACGME General Surgery Milestones which incorporate the six core competencies.
Our program draws on the unique strengths of its integrated hospitals to provide breadth and excellence in clinical teaching at the bedside, in the operating room coupled with structured educational conferences and a comprehensive curriculum based in the simulation lab and our robotic/laparoscopic skills lab.
Clinical Rotations
Throughout the training program, our residents rotate through these Surgical Specialties:
- Colorectal Surgery
- Surgical Endoscopy
- Surgical Oncology
- Breast Surgery
- Pediatric Surgery
- Transplant Surgery
- Vascular Surgery
- Cardiothoracic Surgery
- Surgical Intensive Care Unit
- Trauma Surgery
- General Surgery
Click here to view a sample rotation.
Research Opportunities
In addition to clinical opportunities, another goal of the program is to provide residents with the tools and mentorship necessary to foster their growth as future leaders in surgery. From this interview cycle, we will be taking residents interested in not only the clinical track, but the academic track as well.
Andy Lee (2020 – 2021)
This year, Dr. Lee will be working mainly on ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP). His two aims this year on EVLP are (1) to recondition marginal quality donor lungs for transplant, and (2) to model pulmonary viral disease. Ex vivo lung perfusions were initially developed to improve upon ice-based cold storage methods to transport transplant organs from donor to recipient. Traditional static cold storage decreases metabolic requirements but accumulation of reactive oxygen species from anaerobic metabolism can still lead to ischemia-reperfusion injury post-transplant. In contrast, during EVLP, lungs are perfused and ventilated under physiologic and normothermic conditions on pump-based machines prior to transplant. The hypothesis is that by applying tolerogenic dendritic cell therapies to lungs on ex vivo perfusion, we would be able to recondition marginal quality donor lungs and reassess their suitability for transplantation. Another research interest of his this year is to induce viral ARDS to lungs on ex vivo perfusion. They will administer inhaled SARS-CoV-2 pseudovirus in escalating doses to human lungs maintained on EVLP. This will serve as a platform for testing potential prophylaxis and/or treatment to CoV-2 virus.
David Sigmon (2018-2020)
Dr. Sigmon was the surgical simulation & education fellow during my research year. He was researching the effects of in situ OR simulation to increase team performance with high fidelity scenarios. He was also conducting chart review for clinical science projects and getting a Master’s Degree in Medical Education.
Posters, Publications, and Presentations
Residents in our program have the opportunity to publish and present their work at conferences. Here are a few examples of some of the work from the residents throughout their journey in this residency program.
Click here for a listing of posters, publications, and presentations.