GENERAL SURGERY RESIDENCY

Application -

Thank you for your interest in available residency positions in the University of Chicago General Surgery Residency Program. As we are participating in the Electronic Residency Application Service, please contact your medical school or the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates for instructions about the application process. In addition to three letters of recommendation, medical school transcripts, and the Dean's letter, we require United States Medical Licensing Examination scores. The deadline for applications is November 1.

The Residency Review Committee has approved our program for six categorical residents per year. We will directly match all positions through the National Resident Matching Program.

Interviews are by invitation only. The resident selection committee reviews completed applications and sends letters stating whether an interview has been granted.

Please feel free to contact Carmen Barr (cbarr@surgery.bsd.uchicago.edu) in our Surgical Education Office at (773) 702-6337 for additional information.

Mitchell C. Posner, M.D.
Professor of Surgery
Chief, Section of General Surgery and Surgical Oncology
Director, Surgical Oncology Fellowship
University of Chicago
5841 South Maryland Avenue
Chicago, Illinois  60637

Education

Residency education in General Surgery consists of a five-year General Surgery Residency.  Each year six categorical residents are matched to the General Surgery Residency.  The training program is primarily based at the University of Chicago Hospitals with specified rotations at integrated and affiliated hospitals including John H. Stroger Hospital of Cook County, MacNeal Memorial Hospital and Weiss Memorial Hospital.  The program is designed to provide a broad surgical experience and prepares the resident for further training in his/her specific area of interest. 

Goals and Objectives

The first and second years include rotations on cardiothoracic surgery, general surgery (four services which emphasize breast, endocrine, upper/lower gastrointestinal, laparoscopic/minimally invasive and oncologic surgery), pediatric surgery, transplant surgery, vascular surgery and rotations in trauma and general surgery at John H. Stroger Hospital of Cook County and MacNeal Memorial Hospital.  Residents assigned to these services participate in both inpatient and outpatient activities, and are provided the opportunity to care for patients throughout the pre-operative, intraoperative and post-operative course of their illness.  During each of these rotations, the resident will work closely with senior residents and faculty in the specific specialty area.

Prior to entering the third year of the General Surgery Residency, residents have the option of spending a period of 24 months or more devoted to basic science, clinical outcomes and/or translational research.  Research experience is not mandatory, but is elected by most residents and is strongly recommended for those planning a career in academic surgery.

The third year includes rotations as the senior resident on burn, critical care/endoscopy, transplant and vascular surgery services.  The remainder of the year is spent in general surgery at the University of Chicago, MacNeal Memorial Hospital and Weiss Hospital working with a team of junior and senior residents.

The fourth year includes rotations as the senior resident on the pediatric surgery, cardiothoracic surgery service, the remainder of the year is spent on and the trauma service at John H. Stroger Hospital of Cook County Hospital and the general surgery service at MacNeal Memorial Hospital.

The fifth or Chief Resident year consists of rotations as the senior resident on the general surgery services at the University of Chicago Hospitals.

Services are staffed so that the resident has maximum responsibility and opportunity.  While assigned to the float service in-house on-call assignments are every Sunday through Thursday with weekends off.  While assigned to other services in-house, on-call assignments average two nights per month.  Formal teaching conferences are offered in general surgery for all residents throughout the year and in the subspecialties during specific rotations.  During the surgery experience, the resident acquires an in-depth knowledge of the pre- and post-operative care of acutely ill patients, the principles of surgical physiology and wound management, and the essentials of operative technique, both conventional and minimally invasive.  Each resident gains direct operative experience with the broad range of general surgical procedures, as well as comparable operations in other specialties.  The average number of surgical procedures performed upon completion of the program is 900-1,000, including 250-300 cases at the chief resident level. 

In addition to the learning experience which results from resident/faculty and resident/resident interaction in clinical care situations, the core educational curriculum includes didactic and interactive teaching during several weekly conferences including Grand Rounds, Morbidity and Mortality Conference, Residents Basic Science/Clinical Case Conference and Surgical Oncology Conference.

After completing the General Surgery Residency program and at the recommendations of the Program Director the resident is eligible to take the Qualifying Examination of the American Board of Surgery.

Research

The diverse research interests of our General Surgery faculty include NIH funded work in bacterial virulence, tumor immunology, molecular biology and gene therapy of gastrointestinal malignancy and endocrine tumors. Ongoing clinical research includes participation in national cooperative trails of breast cancer, upper and lower gastrointestinal cancer and evaluation of inflammatory bowel disease and outcomes analysis in obese and critically ill patients.