Basic Residency Program

The Department of Surgery offers 22 PG-I positions:

• Nine positions in the PG-I year are for physicians entering the five-year categorical program.
• One position in the PG-I year is offered in conjunction with the Plastic Surgery Program.
• One position in the PG-I year is offered in conjunction with the David Grant Medical Center— Travis AFB, Military Program
• Twelve to 14 positions in the PG-I preliminary program provide basic general surgery training to residents entering surgical subspecialty training or to residents who need a preliminary internship.

During the first two years of the basic program (PG-I and PG-II), each participant receives approximately 12 months of general surgery (gastrointestinal, oncology, pediatrics, trauma, vascular), with one or two months each of burn, cardiothoracic surgery, ER/trauma, neurosurgery, orthopedic surgery, transplant, plastic, SICU, urology, and one month vacation each year. Rotations at the PG-I year are scheduled primarily at UC Davis Medical Center and are designed to provide continuity in patient care.

The objectives of the two-year basic program are:

• to provide the residents with the patient-care skills and experiences needed in preparation for a residency in any of the major surgical subspecialties
• to provide the fundamentals of basic science needed by surgeons
• to provide experience in preoperative and postoperative patient care
• to expose the resident to basic surgical techniques and minor surgical procedures

Patient volume per resident averages 10-25 patients, varying from service to service. PG-I and PG-II residents, along with the senior residents and attending staff, are responsible for the admission, evaluation, diagnostic studies, and the therapeutic plan of their patients. PG-I' s are not required to perform blood draws or other routine procedures such as Foley catheter insertion, but are encouraged to familiarize themselves with these routine procedures.

Applicants who complete the two-year program are qualified to enter any general surgery or subspecialty program in the United States.

Third-year resident

Third-year residents (PG-III) supervise junior housestaff in the preoperative and postoperative management of patients, including all outpatient activities. In addition, they perform moderately complex surgical procedures, thus progressively developing the dexterity and experience needed for a career in surgery. The resident's experience and ability determine the extent of delegated operative responsibility. The majority of the third year is spent on general surgery services.

Research experience

Most, but not all, residents participate in a one or two year research experience (clinical or laboratory). The research experience is tailored to the career goals of the individual and permits either a commitment to a specific clinical discipline for extended specialized experience, or a commitment to bench research. The goal is to learn research design, experimental method and problem solving, data analysis and interpretation. In certain circumstances, when a trainee's career interests require an extensive research experience, we may extend this period to two years.

Fourth-year resident - senior resident

The fourth clinical year of surgical residency (PG-IV) includes a senior resident responsibility in pediatric surgery, transplant and general surgery at the UC Davis Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente Medical Centers, and Sutter Hospital. These rotations serve as the resident's introduction to independent patient care management and team leadership. PG-IV residents assume responsibility for the team of junior residents on their service and perform major surgical procedures under the guidance of attending physicians.

Fifth-year resident - chief resident

The final clinical year of the surgical residency (PG-V) training program consists of focused experiences as the chief resident on surgical oncology, trauma, emergency surgery, vascular surgery and gastrointestinal surgery at the UC Davis Medical Center. In addition PG-V residents spend time at Kaiser, North/Roseville working with general surgeons who have practices that deal primarily with complex patients. The chief resident performs all necessary procedures in the course of treatment of his or her patients and delegates responsibility for performing all necessary diagnostic and therapeutic procedures to junior residents. The chief resident also participates in teaching junior residents, medical students, nurses and other paramedical personnel. Rotations are divided between UC Davis Medical Center and the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center.

Approximately one-third of our graduating chief residents enter private practice in general surgery, one-third remain in academic surgery and the remaining third go on to fellowship training. Because of the high quality of training they receive, UC Davis surgery graduates have been successful in obtaining competitive fellowships. The research experience and broad training base have made our graduates extremely competitive with graduates from other programs.

Operative experience: 2009 graduates

Fellowships 

Post-residency fellowships at UC Davis provide opportunities for additional surgical-specialty training. Several divisions with established track records of clinical leadership and teaching excellence offer fellowship programs. These include ACGME-certificated residencies in surgical critical care, plastic surgery, and thoracic surgery; a minimally invasive/bariatric surgery fellowship; and a proposed vascular surgery residency (to start by 2006). In order to ensure superior training for our general surgery residents, we have taken care to limit the number of graduate fellowship positions in our program. Because of the abundance of cases, our general surgery residents receive experience in many areas that is equivalent to what is offered by some fellowship training programs. We feel that our fellowships do not detract from the general surgery training program, but, in fact, enhance it.