Skip to main content

General Surgery Residency Curriculum

The SSM Health/Saint Louis University School of Medicine General Surgery Residency Program offers a robust curriculum with a broad range of clinical and operative experiences.   

Rotations and Experiences

Clinical Sites
Operative Experience

Operative training is based on an appropriate progression of pre- and post-operative decision-making, case volume and intra-operative autonomy. Residents have no problem meeting the required 250 major/minor cases by the end of their PGY-2 year, or the 850 major cases required upon completion of the program. 

Benefits

  • Significant operative autonomy
  • Shared decision-making both in the operating room and on the floors
  • Enough robotic cases to earn a robotic certificate from DaVincini, possibly prior to PGY-4 and PGY-5 years
PGY-1 Training

Categorical and preliminary surgical residents work with other surgical subspecialties, anesthesia, emergency medicine and preliminary residents. Interns spend the majority of the training year at SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital  and SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital. 

Experiences 

  • Pre- and post-operative care of complex patients 
  • Evaluation of new patients in inpatient and outpatient settings 
  • Level-appropriate operative cases 
  • Occasional 24 hour on-call responsibility 
  • Rotations 
    • Trauma 
    • ICU 
    • Acute care surgery 
    • Transplant surgery 
    • Surgical and breast oncology 
    • Colorectal surgery 
    • Pediatric surgery 
    • Thoracic surgery 
    • Vascular surgery 
PGY-2 Training

Second-year residents see a sharp increase in their responsibility, autonomy and patient care duties — including caring for patients experiencing critical illness.  

ICU Nights Rotation 

  • Stationed at SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital 
  • Assists chief resident with high-acuity trauma patients 
  • First responder to complex issues at night, including: 
    • Hemodynamically unstable patients 
    • Routine and uncommon post-operative issues 
    • Surgical consults 
    • Proficiency in skills such as central line, arterial line and tube thoracostomy placement 

SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital - St. Louis Rotation 

  • Covers a broad range of cases from bread and butter general surgery to colorectal and thoracic surgery 
  • Introduction to private general surgery and emergency operative cases for acute surgical problems 
  • Exposure to obstetric and gynecologic population with OB-GYN colleagues
  • Exposure to high volume of open laparoscopic and robotic cases, including: 
    • Soft tissue 
    • Cholecystectomies 
    • Appendectomies 
    • Ventral and inguinal hernias 
    • Paraesophageal hernias  
    • Hollow viscous perforation and other acute care surgeries 

Additional Experiences 

  • John J. Cochran Veterans Hospital 
    • 24 hour in-house call responsibility 
    • General surgery 
    • Vascular surgery 
    • Evaluation of common surgical problems 
  • Mercy Hospital St. Louis Burn ICU (the only burn center in the region)
    • Trauma ICU nights  
    • Vascular surgery 
    • Breast/thoracic services 
    • Surgical oncology/colorectal services 
PGY-3 Training

Third-year training emphasizes operative experience along with chief-level responsibilities on select services, which allows residents to develop technical skills and introduces them to the responsibilities and expectations of chief residents.  

Experiences 

  • Call coverage when chief residents have the day off 
  • Junior resident mentorship 
  • Increased operative experience
  • Acute care surgery service 
  • Pediatric rotation 
    • Serve as most senior general surgery resident 
    • Manage NICU and PICU patients 
    • Participate in complex operations 
  • Opportunity for one-month elective exploration
    • Services include breast, colorectal and vascular surgery
  • Surgical oncology and breast oncology  
  • Thoracic surgery  
    • Serve as the most senior general surgery resident 
PGY-4 Training

Fourth-year residents are the most senior residents on their service and serve as the chief of their team. They develop leadership skills to manage patients and guide junior residents.  

Experiences 

  • Trauma day service  
    • Oversee floor trauma residents  
    • Work with APP support to round and complete day-to-day tasks 
    • Operate on scheduled and emergent cases 
    • Respond to trauma activations 
  • Trauma night float 
    • Oversee PGY-1 and PGY-2 residents 
    • Respond to Trauma activations 
    • Act as general surgery chief for new overnight consults 
    • Assist PGY-2 in ICU management if needed 
    • Operate on emergent cases 
  • Transplant surgery chief 
    • Participate in liver, kidney and pancreas transplantation 
    • General surgical cases on cirrhotic and transplant patients 
  • Mercy Hospital South 
    • Surgical oncology/hepatobiliary surgery 
    • Endocrine surgery (parathyroid, thyroid and adrenal pathologies)
    • Private practice 
PGY-5 Training

Fifth-year training hones residents’ surgical, clinical and leadership skills, preparing them for independent practice or fellowship training. Chief residents work to master the highest level of operative complexity and autonomy, and they serve as role models and educators to junior residents.  

Experiences 

  • Veterans hospital rotation 
    • Lead junior residents through cases with attending supervision 
    • Hone advanced general surgical laparoscopic and robotic
    • Vascular surgery experience 
    • Colorectal and surgical oncology experience 
  • Surgical oncology and /colorectal rotation 
    • Complex hepatobiliary and gastrointestinal operations 
      • Laparoscopic 
      • Robotic 
      • Open experience 
  • Acute care surgery rotation 
    • Highest acuity of urgent and emergent patients 
    • Chief-run service with significant surgical and clinical autonomy 
  • SSM Health St. Clare Hospital - Fenton rotation 
    • Private practice colorectal and general surgery 
    • Both benign and malignant pathologies