General Surgery

The average chief resident performs more than 700 cases during the five years of training, including approximately 200 cases as chief surgical resident. Because we are a certified level 2 trauma center that treats more than 500 patients annually, surgical residents also have the opportunity to function as a primary surgeon in evaluating trauma and treating emergency surgical conditions. Four categorical and four preliminary residents are admitted as PGY 1s each year.

Teaching program
The primary programs for resident instruction are weekly core curriculum lectures, which review principal components of general surgery and basic science; a weekly morbidity and mortality conference; and surgical grand rounds. Multidisciplinary GI conference and tumor boards take place weekly, along with a monthly journal club. Service-specific case review and didactic conferences also take place three times each week. Residents are assigned topics for presentation and review at these sessions.

Review for the American Board of Surgery In-Training Examination (ABSITE) also takes place at intervals throughout the year with practice oral and written exams.

Rotations
Schedules vary depending on clinical volume. Generally, each day begins with 6 a.m. sign-in, followed by patient rounds until 7:30 a.m. The remainder of the morning is spent in the operating room, on nursing units, in the endoscopy suite or attending to patients in community physicians’ private practice offices.

Surgical clinics take place once a day, while surgical consults occur as often as needed. Didactic conferences take place from noon to 1 p.m. three days a week; tumor boards and other conferences are scheduled the other two days. Afternoon rounds are dedicated to providing patient care and updating the night call team.

Surgical cases performed by Saint Raphael residents
On average, Saint Raphael residents perform more than 1,000 cases during their training, with more than 300 cases performed in the chief year. Residents gain experience in a full range of complex surgical procedures including gastric surgery, hepatobiliary surgery, vascular surgery, and cardiothoracic surgery. Extensive experience is also provided in laparoscopic procedures.

Attending faculty/resident research and presentations
Saint Raphael’s Department of Surgery has 30 full- and part- time attending faculty in general surgery, vascular surgery and the surgical subspecialties. Most faculty members have clinical appointments at Yale University School of Medicine.

PGY 1 residents are assigned a mentor faculty member to serve as a resource and guide during residency.

Residents participate in research projects guided by faculty and peers on the Research Council Committee. All categorical residents are required to complete one research project with submission for publication or presentation.

Saint Raphael’s residents regularly present at regional meetings of the New England Cancer Society, the New England Surgical Society, and the combined annual meeting of the Connecticut Chapters of American Board of Surgery/American College of Surgeons.

Recent graduates

A partial list of where recent graduates have gone after completing their Saint Raphael residency includes:

• Private practice
• University of Washington, Seattle, transplant fellowship
• Albany Medical Center, NY, vascular fellowship
• State University of New York at Stony Brook, plastic surgery fellowship
• Duke University, NC, plastic surgery fellowship
• University of Louisville, cardiothoracic fellowship

For further information
For further information or to request our brochure, Resident Education at the Hospital of Saint Raphael, contact Lillian Figueroa, Department of Surgery, (203) 789-3443 or e-mail: [email protected].

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