Program Overview
The residency program in General Surgery at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine consists of 5 clinical years, with the option for an additional year in an endowed research fellowship. All of our graduates have gone on to become board certified surgeons. The most recent site visit by the ACGME was completed in spring 2007, from which we received a full 5-year accreditation with no citations noted. We are approved to finish five Categorical Chief Residents per year. Our program is fully compliant with resident duty hour rules. We are wholeheartedly committed to providing a matchless surgical training experience that stimulates and equips our surgical leaders for tomorrow.
The experiences in patient care and operative procedures are broad and provide graded responsibilities in all aspects of surgery. Our trainees are expert, well-trained surgeons ready to handle the broadest range of surgical problems and procedures.
The North Carolina Baptist Hospitals, Incorporated (NCBH) and the affiliated institution, Forsyth Medical Center, provide over 1500 acute care and intensive care beds. Baptist Hospital has a total of 41 operating theatres (7 pediatric, 34 adult inpatient and outpatient). In addition, NCBH is the regional Level I Trauma Center, providing a mixture of both blunt and penetrating trauma for management by the general surgery program.
The clinical program incorporates a broad range of rotations and patient care experiences in general surgery and the respective surgical specialties. The first two years of training are focused on general care of the surgical patient, critical care medicine, and basic surgical skill acquisition. During the third and fourth clinical years, the resident has the opportunity to function as the senior resident on respective services, thereby gaining progressive maturity of surgical judgment and technical skills. During the chief residency year, the individual is expected to oversee the care of their respective surgical services and assume the role of the “operating surgeon” on most procedures. The operative experience gained during his/her residency is both broad and complex in areas of hepatobiliary, trauma, and upper abdominal vascular procedures. In addition, senior responsibilities on pediatric surgery and transplantation provide a depth of experience in these areas of surgery.
A fully functional Surgical Simulation Lab and Operating Room are part of a comprehensive educational curriculum. In addition to laparoscopic and endoscopic surgical skills training, The Simulation Lab experience includes regularly scheduled sessions and experience in Crew Resource Management in a multidisciplinary environment.
Contact: Vonda Wadhams, Residency Program Coordinator
Phone: 336/716-7496 or e-mail vwadhams@wfubmc.edu
Last Updated: January 13, 2009