University of Virginia Health System

GENERAL SURGICAL ROTATIONS

The sequence of rotations for general residents are as listed below.

Operative Experience

TEACHING LABORATORIES

The Department of Surgery is committed to providing teaching of surgical skills and techniques in a laboratory setting. Teaching laboratories using anesthetized animals are conducted with supervision by attendings and senior residents from the department about six to ten times a year. Emphasis is put on the development of fundamental skills, but, in addition, advanced or new techniques are also discussed and practiced. Topics covered include basic techniques, GI techniques, stapling, and vascular procedures.

Surgical residents are required to take the ATLS course at the beginning of their residency, and are provided the opportunity to take the ACLS course and ACLS/ATLS instructor courses. In addition, residents have the option of assisting in the teaching of the Surgical Techniques class that is offered to the third year medical students.

CONFERENCES

Conferences are an important part of the educational plan of the Department. A teaching conference of interest to surgeons occurs every day except Sunday. Please see our Conference Schedule

In addition to these formal, scheduled conferences, teaching rounds with the housestaff are conducted on the individual services. The morning rounds are considered "work rounds", while the afternoon rounds are "teaching rounds".

READING SYLLABUS

The educational philosophy of the Department of Surgery is based on the belief that residents in surgery are similar to graduate students. Therefore, with ample guidance from the faculty, residents carry a significant amount of the responsibility for their own education. We use an educational system that divides all topics in the field of general surgery into one-week segments so that the discipline is covered every three years. This system means that everyone in the Department is studying the same subjects at the same time. Each week includes a summarizing conference. Feedback comes from the conferences, the in service exams, and from self-tests such as SESAP.

RESEARCH

Research is an important facet of our educational system. Most, but not all, surgical residents who train at the University of Virginia are interested in research in areas related to the surgical disciplines. Most of our residents spend one year in research, and about 70% of these elect to spend a second year in the laboratory. About 25% of those residents who choose to obtain research training ally themselves with scientists in one of the basic science disciplines. Many of the faculty have similar relationships with scientists in pharmacology, physiology, and infectious disease. Immunology and physiology have been the areas usually chosen by residents from our department. A number of our residents have been obtaining master's degrees as a result of their research training. Research opportunities within the Department are varied, and the research interests of the members of the Department are listed on the following pages. Surgery residents are encouraged to apply for grants and fellowships for their research years and have been very successful in competing for awards.

Our department's laboratories are located in a modern facility just behind the university hospital. All of our laboratories are on the same floor in this building. The proximity of all of the lab space of the department promotes the sharing of common facilities. There is an active Department of Comparative Medicine with two veterinarians and several vivariums. The primary laboratory groups are all supported by NIH grants.