How long is your residency program?
Five years.

How many residency positions are available?
Each year four Categorical and four Preliminary PGY 1 positions are available.

How committed is the institution to resident training?
The Hospital has sponsored graduate medical education programs for more than 50 years. The Department of Surgery has 7 full-time general surgeons and a full-time Ph.D. surgical educator. In addition, the entire teaching faculty is comprised of board-certified surgeons in all specialties.

How much operating room experience can I expect?
Click here to review the average number of operative experiences within the RRC defined categories for the four chiefs who graduated in 2004.

Where do residents go when they finish the program?
While forty percent of the past four year’s graduates pursued private practice, sixty percent were accepted in trauma, plastics, cardiothoracic, and vascular fellowship programs of their choosing.

What is your pass rate on Board Examinations?
During the past five years, 75% passed the written qualifying examination on the first attempt and the remaining 25% on the second.  Almost 70% passed the oral certifying examination on the first try and all but one on the second.

Where do your residents come from?
Our residency program attracts candidates from across the country and around the world. We recruit residents based on overall excellence and do not discriminate based on race, color, sex, or creed.   A list of our first year categorical residents includes:

Anh Dang, M.D. University of Colorado School of Medicine
Jordan Gutweiler, M.D. University of Kansas School of Medicine
Jeremiah Martin, M.D. Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland
Kristina Spate, M.D. University of Texas Southwestern Medical School at Dallas

Your program is based in a community hospital.  What is available if I want to strengthen my research skills?
Residents participate in research projects guided by faculty on a Research Council Committee.  All residents must complete a research project with submission for publication.  Residents regularly present their research at regional and national meetings.

Do you have a diverse patient population?
Patient diversity is one of the program's greatest strengths. The vast socioeconomic, ethnic, and racial diversity of an East Coast urban setting translates into an excellent resident learning experience.

What is the on-call schedule?
Every fourth night and every other weekend off.  Chief residents take call from home.

How are the facilities?
The patient care areas are modern and completed over the past 1-20 years.  The operating room suite is a modern facility of 24 rooms.  Radiology facilities contain multiple CT scanners, PET scanner, and advanced interventional and nuclear facilities.  There is a new cancer center offering patients the latest advances in technology and techniques and a new ED with dedicated surgical areas.  The SICU recently underwent a $3.5 million renovation designed to enhance patient care by improving unit efficiency, with direct views into patient rooms from a redesigned nurses' station.  And there is an inanimate laboratory for laparoscopy training.

Do you have extramural rotations?
We have decided to send our residents to outside institutions for burn, pediatrics, and transplant.  These centers provide a level of excellence for training in these areas unmatched in the region.  In addition, an elective rotation is offered during the PGY3 year.

Does your program support residents with visas?
Yes.  The program supports residents with H-1B, J-1, and F-1 visas.   Resident applicants who are not United States citizens and intend to apply for an H-1B visa must have all three steps of USME completed and copies available by Feb.1 of the applicable academic year.  Information regarding and USMLE is available at www.usmle.org.  A J-1 visa allows you to temporarily live, train and work in the U.S. Once your training is complete, it requires you to return to your home country for 24 months (or obtain a waiver) before filing a permanent resident petition or applying for a change of visa status.  Requirements and an application for ECFMG sponsorship cam be found online at www.ecfgm.org.   An F-1 visa is a practical training visa only for U.S. medical school graduates and only for 12 months.