Typical 5-Year Rotation

*General Surgery rotation at secondary teaching hospital

POSTGRADUATE YEAR 1
Emphasis in this year is on the care of the surgical patient preoperatively, including diagnostic and treatment plans, and postoperatively, to observe cases both complicated and uncomplicated.  A resident in this first year will learn the natural course of many surgical diseases and will have an opportunity to see its course altered by correct evaluation, treatment planning, and postoperative care.  Operative experience will be appropriate for one beginning training and will include the  basics of creating and closing incisions, the proper use of surgical instruments, the exposure of a surgical field, the proper  technique for anastomoses of various kinds, vascular closures, and the proper approach to closing the operative incision. Surgical performance will be closely supervised and monitored, and responsibility is graded with both length of time in the program and proof of proficiency.

During this year the resident will have approximately 6 months on general surgical services, 1 month each on trauma, pediatric surgery, plastic surgery, anesthesiology, neurosurgery, and night float.

POSTGRADUATE YEAR 2
The resident surgeon in this year acts as an operator in instances in which their progress and expertise make it appropriate, and will do a fairly large number of surgical cases assisted by the attending surgeon or the chief resident in surgery.  In the more complex cases, the resident will act as the first assistant to the chief resident or attending surgeon.  With progress  through the year, the resident will more frequently become the operating surgeon. 

5 months are spent on the general surgery services, plus 2 months on trauma, 2 months on pediatric surgery, 1 month on plastic, 1 month on night float, and a one-month burn rotation at the Burn Unit of Loyola University in Chicago.

POSTGRADUATE YEAR 3
The majority of this year is spent on the general surgery services (8 months), plus 1 month each on trauma, pediatric surgery, GI, and an elective rotation.

POSTGRADUATE YEAR 4
The fourth year also consists of eight months of general surgery.  Four of those months are done at neighboring Methodist Medical Center, where the resident will be the senior resident on the surgery service, and will assume operative responsibility for general surgery cases.  During the other four months, the resident will serve as trauma chief under the direction of the  trauma attending, and will have major involvement in the care of a large number of trauma cases.

POSTGRADUATE YEAR 5
During this year, time is divided among the three surgical services, with two months at a time being spent on each service.  The resident is now a chief resident, directs each service and is the initial surgeon to see patients. The resident plans diagnostic and treatment programs, and with the backup of surgical attendings, carries out appropriate surgical procedures and postoperative care.  In addition, the resident  is responsible for assigning the junior residents to cases that they participate in preoperatively to postoperatively.  This is the prime time for the chief resident to function as a broadly oriented, This is the year when the resident will do complicated procedures of all types appropriate in a general surgical program.

GENERAL SURGERY SERVICES
Our rotations include four general surgery services.  The operative experience residents gain on the following services include:

Red
General surgery, surgical oncology, colo-rectal, breast
Blue
General surgery, critical care, thoracic, bariatric
Orange
General surgery, vascular, endovascular, minimally invasive, robotic, bariatric
Methodist Medical Center
General Surgery, vascular, endovascular, minimally invasive, robotic, surgical oncology, thoracic, bariatric

OPERATIVE EXPERIENCE
Our General Surgery residents perform approximately 1,000 operations at the end of five clinical years.  This experience is outstanding in the complexity of surgery performed, especially in laparoscopic, abdominal, vascular and thoracic. The following chart compares the average number of major cases performed during the five-year program as compared to RRC defined minimums. The averages reflect data gathered from the case logs of graduating residents over a five year period.

*Trauma cases show below minimum figures due to a recent RRC redefinition of trauma cases.

CALL SCHEDULE
To facilitate compliance with the 80-hour work week, we use a night float system putting both a senior and junior resident on night float every night.  Residents not on Trauma will take call an average of two to three times a month.  Trauma team members will take call an average of every fourth night.

TEACHING
The teaching of residents and students within the Department of Surgery is of highest priority.  Teaching consists of extensive interaction with faculty and senior and chief residents on the floors and in the operating room. Conferences are held on a weekly basis and courses offering didactic and hands-on experience occur on a semi-annual or annual basis.

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UICOMP Dept of Surgery, North Building 2nd Floor, 624 NE Glen Oak Ave    Peoria, Illinois 61603-3135 
Phone: 309.655.2383      FAX: 309.655.3630