The Medical School and Department of Surgery of the University of California, Davis, offer advanced training in surgical critical care in a fellowship accredited by the American Committee for Graduate Medical Education and the Residency Review Committee for Surgery. The Surgical Critical Care fellowship was most recently reevaluated in 2004 by the ACGME and provided a full five-year accreditation and awarded a special commendation for the program quality. Two positions are offered and the fellowship is designed to last for one year. Those with a desire for additional training or interests in basic science or prospective clinical research may elect to continue for an additional year.  Fellows will qualify to sit for the American Board of Surgery's Certificate of Added Qualifications in Surgical Critical Care.

The UC Davis Medical Center is the only academic, tertiary care referral center for all of inland Northern California. The Department of Surgery provides comprehensive service for complex surgical problems in gastrointestinal, vascular, oncologic and endocrine surgery. There are active clinical and academic programs in both pediatric and adult cardiac surgery. The 577-bed hospital also contains the only Burn Unit in the area and is the sole Level I trauma center for a catchment population of over 2 million people. The medical center has critical care units dedicated to neonatology, pediatrics, medicine, cardiology, burns, neurosurgery, general and vascular surgery, cardiothoracic surgery and trauma. There are a total of over 100 intensive care unit beds, one of the highest percentages of ICU beds in the United States, and a reflection of the medical center's role as a major regional referral center for complex critical care, trauma, and burns.

Programs of the Department of Surgery carry a daily critical care census of 40-70 patients, with a variety of admitting diagnoses:

The trauma service, one of the largest in the country, admits approximately 4,000 trauma patients per year. 85% are victims of blunt trauma. In addition, the Trauma Service provides 70% of the emergency General Surgery consultation services.

Rotations are designed to provide exposure to a range of pathology and critical surgical disease. This includes dedicated time in burn surgery brochoscopy and trauma and emergency surgery. Fellows will also be involved in critical care consultation for patients on the neurosurgery, orthopedic, otorhinolaryngology, urology, gynecology, cardiothoracic surgery, and pediatric surgery services.

The Department of Surgery strongly embraces surgeons being involved with all aspects of critical care management and this philosophy is an underlying principle of the Fellowship. Fellows will learn complex fluid management, principle of surgical nutrition hemodynamic monitoring and principles of mechanical ventilation.

Fellows will work with residents in the Department of Surgery and be responsible for some resident teaching and administrative duties.

Fellows will be expected to participate in clinical research. Active basic science research opportunities are in thrombosis and hemostasis, blood transfusion medicine, immunology, surgical nutrition, and the pathophysiology of shock and resuscitation. Fellows can elect to participate in these basic science endeavors.

We believe that operative experience is valuable in the training of the Surgical Critical Care fellow.  Fellows will take a limited amount of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery call where, as they gain experience, they will then be given the opportunity to work as junior attendings with experienced faculty present as needed.

Faculty in the Department of Surgery are responsible for management of critically ill and injured patients, but several faculty members have a particular interest in surgical critical care and are major participants in fellowship training. In keeping with the department's strong belief that critical care is an integral part of surgical practice, faculty with a special interest in critical care are also actively involved in operative surgery and the management of patients outside the intensive care unit environment.

John Anderson M.D.

Dr. Anderson is an associate professor of surgery and holds a certificate of added qualifications in surgical critical care. His major areas of research interest are pulmonary pathophysiology and the application of computer technology to medicine. He has been on the faculty at UC Davis since 1995.

Christine S. Cocanour, M.D.

Dr. Cocanour, a professor of surgery, is the chief of surgical critical care and program director of the surgical critical care fellowship.  She holds a certificate of added qualifications in surgical critical care.  Her major areas of interest include nosocomial infections in the ICU, the pathophysiology of shock and resuscitation, nutrition and computerized decision support.  She joined the faculty in 2006.

David Greenhalgh M.D.

Dr. Greenhalgh is a professor of surgery, chief of the Burn Division at UC Davis, and chief of Burns at the Shriners Hospital for Children of Northern California. Dr. Greenhalgh holds a certificate of added qualifications in surgical critical care and has been at UC Davis since 1997. His research interests are the basic mechanisms of wound healing and the effects of growth factors in wound repair.

James W. Holcroft M.D.

A professor of surgery. Dr. Holcroft is also a vascular surgeon and has obtained certificates of special qualifications in general vascular surgery and surgical critical care from the American Board of Surgery. His major areas of interest are cardiovascular physiology and monitoring, fluid resuscitation, and scoring systems for the prediction of outcome in critical illness. He has been on the faculty at UC Davis since 1979.

Robert Jacoby M.D.

Dr. Jacoby, is an assistant professor of surgery and holds a certificate of added qualifications in surgical critical care. His major areas of research interest are the pathophysiology of the coagulopathy and thrombosis after injury and critical surgical illness. He has been on the faculty at UC Davis since 2001.

Jason London, M.D.

Dr. London is an assistant professor of surgery and works with the Trauma and Emergency Surgery group. He holds a certificate of added qualifications in critical care as well as a Masters of Public Health. His research interest include epidemiologic aspects of trauma and injury prevention. Dr. London joined the faculty in 2004.

John T. Owings M.D.

A professor of surgery and associate dean for student affairs in the School of Medicine, Dr. Owings is the former program director of the surgical critical care fellowship. He holds a certificate of added qualifications in surgical critical care. His special areas of interest are thromboembolic disorders with special emphasis on the pathophysiology of coagulopathy and short and long-term immune consequences of blood transfusion. He has been on the faculty at UC Davis since 1992.

Michael S. O'Mara, M.D.

Dr. O’Mara is an assistant professor of burn surgery.  He is on faculty at both UC Davis Medical Center and Shriners Hospital for Children of Northern California.  He holds a certificate of added qualifications in surgical critical care and joined the faculty at UC Davis in 2006.  His clinical interest is in acute burn injuries and burn reconstruction and the critical care needed for burn patients.  His research focuses on infections in burn patients, as well as the resuscitation and early care of the burn patient.

Tina L. Palmieri M.D.

Dr. Palmieri, an associate professor of surgery, is the director of the UC Davis Regional Burn Center and is also the assistant chief of Burn Surgery, Shriners Hospital for Children of Northern California. She holds a certificate of added qualifications in surgical critical care and has been at UC Davis since 1999. Dr. Palmieri's major areas of research interest is analysis of outcomes after burn injury, including both the intermediate physical and long-term psychological effects of burn surgery on patient quality of life.

Lynette Scherer M.D.

Dr. Scherer, an associate professor of surgery holds a certificate of added qualifications in surgical critical care. She is the director of the surgical residency program. Her major areas of research interest are the immunology of the response to injury and clinical research in trauma care delivery. She has been on the faculty at UC Davis since 2001.

Matthew Sena, M.D.

Dr. Sena is an assistant professor of surgery who recently finished his one-year critical care fellowship at the University of Washington.  His research interests include trauma resuscitation and surgical nutrition. He joined the faculty in 2005.

Garth Utter, M.D., M.Sc.

Dr. Utter is an assistant professor of surgery who recently finished his two-year critical care fellowship at the University of Washington and joined the faculty at the UC Davis in 2005. He holds a Masters of Science degree in Epidemiology and has research interests in coagulopathy, short and long-term consequences of blood transfusion, and systematized care.

David Wisner M.D.

Dr. Wisner, is a professor of surgery and vice chair of the Department of Surgery. He has obtained his certificate of special qualifications in surgical critical care and is actively involved with both the trauma service and surgical critical care. His major areas of interest are combined shock and head injury, uncontrolled hemorrhage and medical ethics. He has been on the faculty at UC Davis since 1987.

Interested fellows are encouraged to participate in both basic science and clinical research. The Department of Surgery operates laboratory facilities at both the Sacramento and Davis campuses. Complete operating room facilities are available for research endeavors and all of the faculty members have ongoing research programs. The research facility at UC Davis Medical Center opened in 1993 and has the capability for cell culture and sophisticated biochemical and immunologic assays as well as large animal facilities including primate studies. Collaborative efforts with basic scientists both at the Sacramento and Davis campuses are possible. The large number of critically ill and injured patients offers unique clinical research opportunities.

The main UC Davis campus is located in the town of Davis, approximately 15 miles to the west of Sacramento.

Winters in the Sacramento area are relatively mild. Temperatures tend to be in the 40's and 50's and there is a moderate amount of rainfall. Summers are hot with minimal humidity and a cool delta breeze in the evenings. Spring and Fall are temperate and comfortable.

Housing and apartment rental costs are among the most reasonable in California and affordable housing in proximity to the Medical Center is relatively easy to find.

Salary compensation is based on the level of postgraduate training. Paid sick leave, professional liability insurance, and four weeks of paid vacation per year are provided.

Interested applicants should complete the application form and return it to the address below along with a curriculum vitae. Three letters of reference sent either with the curriculum vitae or under separate cover are also requested. Applications and letters of reference should be sent as early as possible. Timing of interview visits will be arranged on an individual basis at the convenience of the applicant. Further information or clarification about the fellowship or the application process is available at the address and phone number below.

Christine S. Cocanour, M.D., F.A.C.S., F.C.C.M.
Director, Surgical Critical Care Fellowship
Department of Surgery
UC Davis Health System
2315 Stockton Boulevard, Room 4206
Sacramento, CA 95817
Telephone: (916) 734-7330
Fax: (916) 734-7755

christine.cocanour@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu