UMass General Surgery Residency Program

UMass Chan General Surgical Residency Program Summary

Advanced endosurgery capabilities, all three training sites Ancillary clinical support staff Nationally recognized faculty in laparoscopic surgery, trauma, hepatobiliary-pancreatic surgery, vascular surgery, and subspecialties Resident publications and presentations High success rate on American Board of Surgery exams Residents successful in obtaining quality clinical and research fellowships Flexibility in programming rotations and research Wide range of clinical experience - 20,000 operations per year across 3 sites Regional neonatal center provides neonatal pediatric surgical training ACS Level I Trauma Center with extensive helicopter support

The General Surgery Residency Program conducted by the Department of Surgery of the UMass Chan Medical School, is accredited by the ACGME (Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education) and is authorized for forty-seven resident positions by the RRC. With six chief residents graduating each year, this rectangular program accepts six PGY1 categorical residents to begin general surgery training each July 1. Six residents are selected each year for comprehensive clinical training in preparation for a career in general surgery. After two initial years of training in both general surgery and the surgical subspecialties, the last three years are exclusively devoted to general surgery, with the exception of a two-month rotation in cardiothoracic surgery at UMass Hospital.

     Promotion to the second year and to the senior years of the program is assumed but requires satisfactory performance at each level. Twelve to sixteen residents who are interested in subspecialty training will also be accepted for one or two years of general surgery training prior to entering their subspecialty residency. The University of Massachusetts Coordinated Residency Program in Surgery is a product of the integration of three other residency programs with the University of Massachusetts Medical Center.

     This coordinated program is designed to capitalize on the academic strength of the medical school and its teaching hospital, together with the clinical strengths of the affiliated hospitals, each of which varies in its clinical emphasis. The University of Massachusetts Medical Center provides exposure to complex tertiary care procedures, such as advanced hepatobiliary -pancreatic surgery, open heart surgery, multiorgan transplantation, and a Level I Trauma Center. The Endosurgery Center at UMMHC further advances training for surgical residents.

     Both sites have faculty with academic and investigative interests. Rotations are designed such that residents have significant exposure. At any one time, one-half of the residents are assigned to UMMHC both in general surgery and surgical specialties, and the other half are at the Memorial Campus.

     This flexibility has been instrumental in helping the program adapt to the technological, educational, fiscal, and regulatory changes that have been occurring over the last few years. With new emphasis upon shorter hospital stays and outpatient management, the ambulatory care and short stay experience now receives more emphasis in surgical training. Outpatient clinics are integrated into the rotations at the UMass Hospital and are incorporated into the clinical experience throughout the program with assignments to private offices and hospital clinics.

     During Orientation Week, each new resident is enrolled in the Advanced Cardiac Life Support Course for certification. In addition, each PGY1 resident is required to complete the two-day American College of Surgeons Advanced Trauma Life Support Course conducted by the University of Massachusetts Hospital Trauma Center. This training, consisting of didactic lectures, skill stations, and an animal exercise laboratory, prepares the surgical resident to manage patients during that first critical hour after major trauma.