Minimally Invasive Surgery Fellowship

In association with University of Massachusetts Coordinated Surgical Residency Program, the UMass Chan Medical School offers comprehensive one- and two-year fellowships in advanced minimally invasive surgery & bariatric surgery to applicants who have completed at least five years of general surgery training.

Under the leadership of

• Demetrius Litwin, MD, MBA, Chair of the Department of Surgery and
• John Kelly, MD, Director of the UMass MIS Fellowship Program and Chief of General Surgery, and Director of Minimally Invasive and Bariatric Surgery Services,

fellows receive advanced training in minimally invasive surgery, as well as basic science and clinical research, telemedicine, clinical and technological innovations, and outcomes analysis. 

Our fellows play a pivotal role in

1. identifying research problems
2. participating in clinical trials
3. evaluating new techniques and their clinical outcomes data including surgical efficacy, patient quality of life outcomes, and cost-effectiveness.

First-Year Fellowship 

During the first year of a two-year fellowship, the fellow's responsibilities include coordinating clinical and basic science research efforts in the division of minimally invasive surgery, such as

• identifying a problem to be studied
• developing the study design
• composing the protocol application for IRB review
• implementation of the protocol
• collection and analysis of the data.

In addition the fellow will direct weekly research meeting for the division of minimally invasive surgery, attend and contribute to biomedical engineering meetings and "brainstorming" sessions for instrument and process development.

Other responsibilities include submitting research manuscripts and presenting findings at prestigious national surgical meetings, as well as participating in didactic and hands-on sessions during UMass Memorial sponsored courses in advanced laparoscopic surgery.

Second-Year Fellowship 

In the second year, the clinical fellow will participate in pre-op evaluation and post-op follow-up of patients in the in-patient and clinic settings, perform surgeries with the attendings specializing in advanced minimally invasive and bariatric procedures, and carry out surgical consultations on in-hospital patients.

Other responsibilities include instructing the general surgery residents in the operating room as well as in the clinical setting, and lead the monthly Minimally Invasive Surgery Rounds, an in-house educational forum, with teleconferencing ability, for discussing minimally invasive and gastrointestinal surgery techniques and outcomes.

In addition, the clinical fellow will be responsible for manuscript submissions as well as abstract presentations at prestigious regional and national surgical meetings. The fellow will also participate in the didactic and hands-on sessions of the UMass Memorial sponsored courses in advanced laparoscopic surgery.

APPLICATION CRITERIA 

• All applications for the UMass Chan Minimally Invasive Surgery Fellowship must be submitted via the Minimally Invasive Surgery Fellowship Council (MISFC)
• All applicants must register with the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP)
• Passage of USMLE Steps 1, 2 and 3 or Equivalent.  Copy of Score Report required
• Recent graduate of a five-year general surgery program
• U.S. citizen or permanent residency (we only accept J-1 visas sponsored by the ECFMG and H-visas in transfer or in very rare instances we will initiate H visas)
• Valid ECFMG certificate if a graduate from a medical school outside of the U.S. or Canada
• Fluency in spoken and written English
• Three letters of recommendation

For additional information please contact Karen Gallagher-Dorval at 508-856-7559 or e-mail: karen.gallagher-dorval@umassmed.edu