Rotations and Curriculum — General Surgery Residency at St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital
Facilities
- Robotic trainer
- Anatomy lab
Rotation schedule
| PGY 1 Rotation | Duration |
| General Surgery | 12 weeks |
| Night Float | 8 weeks |
| SICU | 8 weeks |
| Surgical Oncology/HPB/Breast | 8 weeks |
| Trauma/Acute Care Surgery | 12 weeks |
| Vascular Surgery | 4 weeks |
| PGY 2 Rotation | Duration |
| Breast Surgery | 4 weeks |
| General Surgery | 8 weeks |
| General/Bariatric Surgery | 4 weeks |
| Night Float | 8 weeks |
| SICU | 8 weeks |
| Surgical Oncology/HPB | 4 weeks |
| Trauma/Acute Care Surgery | 12 weeks |
| Vascular Surgery | 4 weeks |
| PGY 3 Rotation | Duration |
| General Surgery | 8 weeks |
| General Surgery/Bariatric Surgery | 4 weeks |
| Night Float | 8 weeks |
| Pediatric Surgery/Burns | 12 weeks |
| Surgical Oncology/HPB | 4 weeks |
| SICU | 4 weeks |
| Transplant Surgery | 4 weeks |
| Trauma/Acute Care Surgery | 4 weeks |
| Vascular Surgery | 4 weeks |
| PGY 4 Rotation | Duration |
| General Surgery | 8 weeks |
| General Surgery/Bariatrics | 4 weeks |
| Night Float | 8 weeks |
| Surgical Elective | 4 weeks |
| Surgical Endoscopy | 4 weeks |
| Surgical Oncology/HPB | 8 weeks |
| Trauma/Acute Care Surgery | 8 weeks |
| Vascular Surgery | 8 weeks |
| PGY 5 Rotation | Duration |
| Administrative Chief | 12 weeks |
| Breast Surgery | 4 weeks |
| General Surgery | 8 weeks |
| General Surgery/Bariatric Surgery | 12 weeks |
| Night Float | 4 weeks |
| Surgical Clinic | 4 weeks |
| Surgical Oncology/HPB | 4 weeks |
| Trauma/Acute Care Surgery | 4 weeks |
While rotations are primarily at the St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital campus, other rotation sites include:
- St. Elizabeth Boardman Hospital
- St. Joseph Warren Hospital
- Akron Children’s Hospital
- University Hospitals
Didactic Curriculum
| Skills and Simulation Lab |
Biweekly |
| Surgical Morbidity and Mortality Conference |
Weekly |
| Surgical Principles Conference |
Weekly |
| Trauma Conference | Monthly |
| Tumor Board, Breast Conference, Hepatobiliary Conferences | Weekly or biweekly |
| Mock Oral Exam |
Two to three times a month |
| Journal Club | Monthly |
| Surgical Anatomy Lab |
Monthly |
Skills and Simulation Lab
- Faculty and chief resident mentored
- Dedicated curriculum based on ACS/APDS Surgery Resident Skills Curriculum
- Includes bedside, open, laparoscopic, robotic and endoscopic procedures
- VR endoscopic trainer (same is used for SAGES FES Exam required for ABS certification)
- VR laparoscopic trainer
- VR robotic surgery trainer
- 24/7 access
- Objective assessments completed to measure personal progress
Surgical Morbidity and Mortality Conference
- Resident led; faculty mentored
- Formal presentations prepared
- Brief literature review relevant to cases
Surgical Principles Conference
- Resident led; faculty mentored
- Based on Sabiston’s Textbook of Surgery
- Assigned textbook reading assignments based on weekly topic
Trauma Conference
- Resident led; faculty mentored
- Interesting trauma cases presented
- Practice Management Guidelines discussed
Tumor Board, Breast Conference, Hepatobiliary Conferences
- Multidisciplinary presentation and review of newly diagnosed cancers
- Further evaluation and management plans developed in real time
- Led by attending oncologist, breast surgeon or HPB surgeon
- Residents attend
Mock Oral Exam
- SCORE-based content/scenarios
- One-on-one live practice oral exam between local faculty and senior resident
- Faculty score and provide feedback and critique of resident performance
- Graduates complete training with eight to 12 exams
Journal Club
- Resident led; faculty mentored
- Formal presentation of high impact journal articles
- Critique of study design, outcomes, analysis and conclusions
Surgical Anatomy Lab
- Resident led; faculty mentored
- Eight to nine annual sessions
- Onsite, cadaver-based review of relevant surgical anatomy
Research and Scholarly Activity
- Opportunity for research: The trauma department has a dedicated research group with nurses and statisticians available to assist in implementation, publication and presentation of trauma-related research. Participation in research is primarily resident-lead; however, we have recently increased structure and mentorship to help facilitate early start and completion of research projects. Many faculty members have research ideas of their own and would love resident partnership to implement them. Our program does not have a dedicated research year or month and does not have a basic science lab for research. However, given our largely unopposed program, case studies and retrospective studies have been presented both locally and as far away as Hawaii. Presentations are completely supported by the program with finances and time, with no cut to your vacation allowance.
- Opportunity for elective rotations: Our program has one month available for an elective rotation in your fourth year.
- Mission/Rural Surgery Tract: With ENT and orthopedics being the only other surgical subspecialties at this Level I trauma center hospital, this residency is ideal for mission or rural surgery tract. If interested, residents may scrub with urology and our OB/GYN physicians. The ENT and orthopedic residents are happy to include general surgery residents, even walking us through their routine thyroidectomies and parathyroidectomies.