Surgery Education - General Surgery Residency Program
Welcome!

The primary goal of our residency program is to produce outstanding general surgeons who can perform at the highest level as both clinicians and academicians. Graduates of our program are compassionate physicians with outstanding technical skills and excellent clinical judgment. They are prepared for highly rewarding careers as broadly-trained general surgeons. Upon graduation, the majority of our residents pursue fellowship training in high caliber subspecialty training programs. Those residents who do not desire additional training are highly successful in the private practice community. Our graduates have taken positions in a great variety of locations throughout the United States. Our teaching faculty come from diverse backgrounds providing our residents many opportunities to learn a variety of approaches to clinical problems.

At the University of Texas Health Science Center we believe that the surgical residents are the lifeblood of any great Department of Surgery. We strive to continually challenge our residents while supporting them at the same time. This is accomplished by having all levels of faculty work side-by-side with the residents on all services. For example, on our trauma surgery service residents take call with a mix of senior faculty (including past presidents of major surgical organizations and the Department Chairman) and full time trauma faculty (including the Residency Director).

In addition to learning clinical surgery, all residents entering the program since 2005 are expected to spend two additional years doing clinical and/or basic science research between the clinical PG2 and PG3 years. During these research years the department sponsors and pays tuition for the research resident to complete a Masters of Science in Clinical Investigation (MSCI) in our NIH sponsored program. This research experience can set the stage for a productive academic career, propel the resident to a top fellowship or simply allow the young surgeon an opportunity to learn what really goes into research so that he/she may evaluate medical literature more critically. Regardless of a surgeon's ultimate career path, we believe that time spent in research should complement the clinical training and make one a better surgeon over the long term.

We have designed our curriculum to prepare our trainees for life after residency. We have monthly courses in business (PG5), leadership (PG4), and teaching (PG3) for the senior residents. Each PG5 resident (with faculty support) is given the weekly responsibility for leading and teaching a group of PG1 and PG2 residents the material found in an assigned textbook chapter (the emphasis is placed not on teaching the material to the junior residents, but on ensuring that the junior residents have done their reading - and then providing a senior resident perspective to the material). The PG3, PG4 and all research residents have a curriculum consisting of:

1. twice monthly discussions over the material found in Selected Readings in General Surgery. These discussions are lead by two committed faculty with numerous teaching awards to their credit who have also done the reading;

2. monthly mock oral exam prep sessions where a limited number of topics are distributed prior to the event and the residents are expected to have prepared for the topics on any given day; and

3. monthly surgical technique video illustration/demonstration sessions lead by faculty members that are expert in the procedure (e.g. advanced laparoscopic procedures, hepatic resection, etc.).

Through this curriculum we instill a commitment to lifelong learning about all aspects of surgical practice that will be necessary to maintain excellence over the course of a surgical career. This attitude toward learning starts at the Chairman level and carries down.

In short, we are committed to attracting outstanding students and providing them with excellent training so that they are prepared to meet their goals, whether in academia or in private practice. We welcome applications from any qualified individual who feels he/she is up to the challenge.

Daniel L. Dent, MD
Program Director
General Surgery Residency Program

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