Curriculum Goals
- Provide learning experiences based on measurable objectives for the education of general surgeons during their residency.
- Integrate principles of basic sciences with clinical experiences.
- Promote a broad understanding of the role of surgery and its interaction with other medical disciplines such as general medicine, psychiatry, and pediatrics.
- Provide progressive responsibility from initial patient care to complete patient management.
- Foster effective interdisciplinary collaborative relationships.
- Provide surgical residents with the ability to function as teachers and consultants.
- Foster continuing education to promote lifelong individual initiative and creative scholarships.
- Prepare surgical residents to use research technology and skills in conducting studies that assist in solving surgical problems.
- Develop professional leadership and management skills.
- Promote understanding of the economic, legal, and social challenges of contemporary and future surgery.
Curriculum Objectives
The objectives of a curriculum describe the desired changes that occur in the behavior of learners when goals of the curriculum have been achieved. These objectives are expressed as outcomes and are related to one or more of the competencies or attitudes described as outcomes of professional education.
Thus, objectives for the curriculum in surgery specify what the resident should know, be able to do, or have an attitude about.
At the completion of training, the resident should be able to:
- Manage surgical disorders based on a thorough knowledge of basic and clinical science.
- Demonstrate the appropriate skills in those surgical techniques required of a qualified surgeon.
- Demonstrate the use of critical thinking when making decisions affecting the life of a patient and the
patient's family. - Make sound ethical and legal judgments appropriate for a qualified surgeon.
- Collaborate effectively with colleagues and other health professionals.
- Teach and share knowledge with colleagues, residents, students, and other healthcare providers.
- Teach patients and their families about the patient's health needs.
- Demonstrate acceptance of the value of life-long learning as a necessary prerequisite to maintaining surgical knowledge and skill.
- Demonstrate a commitment to scholarly pursuits through the conduct and evaluation of research.
- Demonstrate leadership in the management of complex programs and organizations.
- Provide cost-effective care to surgical patients and families within the community.
- Respect the religious needs of patients and their families and provide surgical care in accordance with those needs.
Sample Rotation Schedule
Months | PGY-1 | PGY-2 | PGY-3 | PGY-4 | PGY-5 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Trauma |
Surg Onc/MIS Bariatric/ENT |
ICU |
CT/Breast |
Night Float |
2 | Vascular |
Night Float |
Night Float |
Vascular |
Trauma |
3 | Colorectal/ MIS/General |
ICU |
Peds Surg |
Colorectal/ MIS/General |
Colorectal/ MIS/General |
4 | Night Float |
Night Float |
Surg Onc/MIS Bariatric/ENT |
Night Float |
Colorectal/ MIS/General |
5 | CT/Breast |
Trauma |
Vascular/ Transplant |
Emergency/ General |
Vascular |
6 | Night Float |
Vascular |
Transplant/ Trauma |
Trauma |
Vascular |
7 | Trauma |
Vascular |
Vascular |
Night Float |
Surg Onc/MIS/ Bariatric/ENT |
8 | CT/Breast |
Peds Surg |
Night Float |
Colorectal/ MIS/General |
CT/Breast |
9 | Surg Onc/MIS Bariatric/ENT |
Colorectal/ MIS/General |
Peds Surg |
Night Float |
Surg Onc/MIS/ Bariatric/ENT |
10 | ICU |
Emergency/ General |
Colorectal/MIS General |
Peds Surg |
Emergency/ General |
11 | CT/Breast |
Surg Onc/MIS Bariatric/ENT |
Vascular |
Trauma |
Emergency/ General |
12 | Night Float |
Plastic Surgery |
Trauma |
Surg Onc/MIS/ Bariatric/ENT |
Surg Onc/MIS/ Bariatric/ENT |
13 | Trauma |
ICU |
Surg Onc/MIS Bariatric/ENT |
Colorectal/MIS General |
Colorectal/MIS General |
Call Schedule
Memorial Health University Medical Center's department of surgery uses a night-float system to cover overnight calls. The night-float team covers all new and established surgical and trauma inpatients overnight.
Residents typically spend two months each year on night float, where they gain significant experience caring for acutely ill patients and performing a variety of bedside and operating room procedures.
The PGY1 residents work six 12-hour overnight shifts, Sunday through Friday, with Saturday nights off.
The PGY2 and PGY3 residents work six 12-hour shifts, Saturday through Thursday, with Friday nights off.
The PGY4 and PGY5 residents work five 12-hours shifts, Monday through Thursday, as well as one 24-hour shift on Sunday, with Fridays and Saturdays off.
The night-float residents also assist the weekend rounding teams seeing floor patients on Saturdays and Sundays prior to leaving.
Residents that are not on the night-float rotation cover in-house call on the weekends. All residents not on the night-float rotation typically have every other weekend free of all clinical duties (from Friday afternoon until Monday morning).
The weekends on-call for PGY1 residents consist of one of the following shifts:
- one five-hour shift on Friday night and one 16-hour shift on Saturday night OR
- two 12-hour day shifts, one on Saturday and one on Sunday.
The weekends on-call for PGY2 and PGY3 consist of one of the following shifts:
- one 24-hour shift on Saturday OR
- or two 12-hour shifts, one on Friday night and one on Sunday day.
The weekends on-call for PGY4 and PGY5 consist of one of the following shifts:
- one 12-hour shift on Friday night OR
- or one 24-hour shift on Saturday.
All of the above shifts are compliant with the new ACGME resident work hours restrictions for all PGY levels.
Procedure Volume
The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and the Residency Review Committee for surgery has established guidelines outlining the minimum number of operative procedures and general content areas of general surgery.
The volume and variety of operative experience at Memorial Health University Medical Center provide a balanced experience in each of the essential content areas of general surgery.
These defined categories are head and neck, breast, skin and soft tissues, alimentary tract, abdomen, vascular system, endocrine system, management of trauma/critical care, emergency surgery, and transplantation.
The program and faculty take into account individual capability and rate of progress to ensure sufficient operative experience to produce qualified and competent surgeons.
The following tables depict numbers and types of operative cases performed by our graduating residents in comparison to the ACGME requirements:
Procedure Volume by 2022 Chief Residents Compared to ACGME Requirements
Operative Procedure | Required by ACGME | Chief A | Chief B | Chief C | Chief D | Chief E |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liver | 5 | 12 | 14 | 10 | 8 | 12 |
Pancreas | 5 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 7 |
Laparoscopic –B | 100 | 192 | 231 | 157 | 230 | 252 |
Pediatric | 20 | 93 | 89 | 876 | 76 | 91 |
Vascular | 50 | 174 | 188 | 131 | 134 | 249 |
Graduating Resident Avg. Operative Experience 2011-2022 Total Major Cases
Year | Total Cases |
---|---|
2011 | 1079 |
2012 | 1157 |
2013 | 1135 |
2014 | 1393 |
2015 | 1050 |
2016 | 924 |
2017 | 1076 |
2018 | 1080 |
2019 | 1182 |
2020 | 1164 |
2021 | 1131 |
2022 | 1162 |
Destinations of General Surgery Chief Residents
Chief Year 2021-2022 |
Cases | Initial Post-Graduate Position |
---|---|---|
Katherine Allen, MD | 1179 | Air Force – San Antonio Hospital (San Antonio, TX) |
Andy Chen, MD | 1306 | Burn Surgery Fellowship at Cornell at New York - Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center (1 year) |
William Dugal, IV, MD | 1120 | Private Practice in Greensboro, NC |
Jarrod Robertson, MD | 1193 | Colorectal Fellowship at Orlando Health in Orlando, Florida (1 year) |
Dominic Suma, MD | 1204 | Vascular Surgery Fellowship at Wayne State Detroit Receiving Hospital in Detroit, Michigan (2 years) |
Chief Year 2020–2021 |
Cases | Initial Post-Graduate Position |
Stacey Bowlds, MD | 1,086 | Hospital employed at Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital in Somerset, Kentucky |
Timothy Finnegan, MD | 1,082 | MIS fellowship at the University of Alabama program (1 year) |
Krista Miller, MD | 1,179 | Group practice -Wenatchee Valley Medical Group (Wenatchee, Washington) |
Christina Munford, MD | 1,067 | Group Practice (Surgical Associates of West Florida, Safety Harbor, FL) |
Lynn Nguyen, MD | 1,243 | Group Practice (Billings Clinic in Billings, Montana) |
Chief Year 2019-2020 |
Cases | Initial Post-Graduate Position |
R. Tyler Cowart, MD | 1,356 | Colon and Rectal Surgery Fellowship at Orlando Health in Orlando, FL (1 year) |
Aaron Kirby, MD | 1,061 | Private Practice at Sebasticook Valley Hospital in Pittsfield, Maine |
Andrew Schwemmer, MD | 1,143 | Transition to Surgery Fellowship (Mastery in General Surgery Program at St. Vincent's Health System (Riverside) in Jacksonville, FL (North Florida Surgeons) (1 year) |
Kristine So, MD | 1,059 | Vascular Surgery Fellowship at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio (2 years) |
Ashley Thompson, MD | 1,200 | Acute Care Fellowship at the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL (2 years) |
Chief Year 2018-2019 |
Cases | Initial Post-Graduate Position |
Jo Cooke-Barber, MD | 1,027 | Pediatric Vascular Malformations and Pediatric Surgical Oncology Fellowship at Cincinnati Children's Hospital (Cincinnati, Ohio) (2 years) |
Samuel Corey, MD | 1,051 | Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery fellowship at University Louisville (3 years) |
Thomas Gianis, Jr., MD | 1,312 | Vascular Fellowship at the University of Virginia School of Medicine (2 years) |
Craig Smith, MD | 1,279 | MIS fellowship at the University of Indiana (1 year) |
Kristen Walker, MD | 1,243 | Surgical Critical Care Fellowship at Memorial Health University Medical Center, Savannah, GA (1 year) then Cardiothoracic Surgery at University of Florida in Gainesville starting in August 2020 |
Chief Year 2017-2018 |
Cases | Initial Post-Graduate Position |
Audrey Butcher, MD | 998 | Hospital employed group at Rutland Regional Medical Center, Rutland, VT |
Vishwanath Danthuluri, MD | 1,027 | Minimally invasive and Bariatric Surgery Fellowship in San Antonio, Texas (Affiliated with the UT Health system)(1 year) |
David Juan, MD | 1,210 | Colorectal Fellowship at LSU in Shreveport, LA (1 year) |
Joseph Spaniol, MD | 1,130 | Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery Fellowship at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA (3 years) |
Brett Tracy, MD | 1,036 | Trauma Surgery & Critical Care Fellowship at Emory University at Grady Hospital in Atlanta, GA (2 years) |
Chief Year 2016-2017 |
Cases | Initial Post-Graduate Position |
John Allen, MD | 1,010 | Minimally Invasive Surgical Fellowship at University of South Carolina -Greenville, SC (1 year) |
Katherine Baysinger, MD | 1,100 | Colorectal Fellowship at University of Texas in Houston, TX (1 year) |
Katherine McBride, MD | 1,030 | Trauma/Critical Care Fellowship at East Carolina University in Greenville, NC (2 years) |
Issa Mirmehdi, MD | 1,137 | Vascular Fellowship at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond, VA (2 years) |
Davis Moon, MD | 1,103 | Vascular Fellowship at Ochsner Clinic in New Orleans, LA (2 years) |