Contact Us
For more information about our program, please contact Gina Brooks, BA, at (303) 788-5084.
Welcome from our Program Director
Welcome!
We appreciate your interest in the General Surgery Residency program at Swedish Medical Center in Englewood, Colorado. We are a community-based Level I Trauma Center with specialized resources and expertise. The physicians who practice here address the most complex of traumas.
Read the full letterMission Statement
The Swedish Medical Center General Surgery Residency Program's mission is to develop the next generation of physicians and physician leaders. As part of HCA Healthcare, we are driven by a single mission: Above all else, we are committed to the care and improvement of human life.
The program is designed to offer residents a rewarding. Educational environment where residents are provided individualized learning opportunities by faculty and staff who support and sustain one another throughout quality care delivery. Our faculty are committed to ensuring the residents' clinical experience and educational needs are fulfilled while expanding residents' perspectives to be inclusive of cultures, values and ideals.
It's important to note that 69% of our graduates have gone on to successful fellowships post-graduation from our surgical residency program to the following institutions for further subspecialty experience: Duke, Swedish Medical Center, Jacob/Montefiore, East Carolina University, Virginia Mason Medical Center, Children's Hospital of Michigan, Rush University, The Oregon Clinic, and Baylor.
Program Overview
We appreciate your interest in the General Surgery Residency program at Swedish Medical Center in Englewood, Colorado. We are a community-based Level I Trauma Center with specialized resources and expertise. The physicians who practice here address the most complex of traumas.
Swedish Medical Center, part of HCA Healthcare’s HealthONE, is located in the south metro Denver area where it has been a proud member of the community for more than 110 years.
An acute care hospital with 408 licensed beds, Swedish Medical Center (SMC) cares for more than 200,000 patients annually with a team of approximately 2,000 dedicated employees, 300 volunteers and 1,400 physicians.
Our residency program highlights include:
- ACGME-accreditation
- Robust research opportunities
- Medical mission opportunities
- Excellent faculty at various HCA Healthcare and non-HCA Healthcare facilities
- Terrific case experience in volume and variety of specialties
Our goal is to become the best general surgery residency program in the western United States through excellent patient care, continuous quality improvement initiatives, vast experiences, and outstanding graduate medical education.
Please note that all medical student interviews for the upcoming season beginning September 2024 through February 2025, will ONLY be IN-PERSON for our residency program. No exceptions. Thank you!
Program Curriculum Highlights
Our expertly crafted programs are designed to provide resident physicians with all the experiences and training necessary for professional success.
Hands-on skills training includes:
- FLS training and certification
- FES training and certification
- Suturing skills sessions
- Robotics sessions
Research
All residents are required to produce one peer-reviewed publication during the 5-year residency program.
Other education features include:
- ATLS certification
- Board review preparation
- Mock oral board review preparation
- Journal clubs
- ABSITE exam through the ABS annually
- Sabiston text review
- SESAP
- TrueLearn
Tracks/Positions
| Tracks | NRMP # | Available Positions |
|---|---|---|
| Categorical | 1997440C0 | 3 |
| Preliminary | N/A | 0 |
Rotation Schedule
We have clinical rotations in the following areas:
- Anesthesiology
- Plastics/Burn
- Breast surgery
- Colorectal surgery
- Head/Neck surgery
- Cardiothoracic surgery
- Hepatobiliary surgery
- General surgery
- Medical Intensive Care
- Trauma surgery
- Surgical Intensive Care
- Vascular surgery
- Urology
- Transplant surgery
- Minimally Invasive Surgery
- Endoscopy
- Pediatric surgery
Salary & Benefits Information
Salary
| Year | Salary |
|---|---|
| PGY1 | $66,040 |
| PGY2 | $68,016 |
| PGY3 | $70,387 |
| PGY4 | $73,195 |
| PGY5 | $76,482 |
An annual on-call meal stipend of $950 is added to the salaries shown. The stipend is distributed in July for $475 and in January for $475.
In additional for new residents, a $1000 stipend is provided to offset the time spent in orientation activities prior to the start date.
Benefits
- Vacation of 160 hours per year
- Meals in Doctor's Lounge or hospital cafeteria
- Medical insurance (subsidized)
- Dental insurance (subsidized)
- Vision insurance (subsidized)
- Life and disability insurance
- Leaves of absence (some paid)
- Flexible spending accounts
- 401K
- HCA stock purchase plan
- Employee Assistance Program
- Colorado Physician Health Program
- Fitness center (membership paid for by hospital
- Funding for conference presentations
- Payment of training and full Colorado licensure
- Wellness activities
Additional Note
Audition rotations
If you would like to apply for an audition rotation (trauma services), please do so by clicking on this link to apply and providing all of the documentation required for the specific dates that are available. Before you apply for the clinical rotation, please make sure that your school will provide both worker’s compensation and malpractice insurance. Without both items, the rotation will not be approved.
Frequently Asked Questions about our General Surgery Residency Program
International medical school graduates must be certified by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) at the time of application.
No, US clinical experience is not required but it is strongly preferred. We do not consider observerships, externships and/or preceptorships to be clinical experience, nor do we offer those opportunities.
No, ECFMG is the sole sponsor of visas for physicians in clinical training programs.
Applicants must be recent (2 years or less) graduates from medical school to be considered competitive.
Where can I find support in applying to the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS)?: The ECFMG offers a service called ERAS Support Services to anyone who is ECFGME certified. The ERAS Support Services will issue the ERAS token, receive the applicant’s supporting documents, and transmit them to the ERAS Post Office, and provide client support between the various organizations. View more information on ERAS Support Services.
Alumni/ Resident Testimonials
“As one of the residents in the first class of the Swedish General Surgery program, what I found most valuable about our program was the staff I had the pleasure to work with, learn from, and grow with this program. You will not find a more dedicated attending group whose ultimate objective is to make you into a surgeon they would trust their own family with. They had a wonderful combination of high expectations, yet making operating and learning enjoyable as well. The coordinators go above and beyond to make every administrative task an easy one, as well as they are family away from home with an open door and open heart policy. I consider myself very lucky and feel prepared for the next step of this journey, but I will miss my Swedish family dearly.”—Ronit Bassa, DO
“The thing I found most valuable about the Swedish General Surgery Residency program is the faculty's genuine commitment to its growth and development. A young residency program faces a variety of challenges and requires a significant amount of investment from its leadership, and Drs. McGuire and Quan deliver in spades. Resident feedback is heard and acted upon in a way that embodies a team approach to bettering graduate surgical education at Swedish. Having begun my training elsewhere, I am truly grateful to this program for giving me a home to complete it.”—Cara Hudson, DO