Education

Didactic programs are department-wide and anchored in a 3-hour curriculum held on Thursday mornings at the University Hospital of Downstate. They include Grand Rounds presentations, mock oral exams using Caliber, small-group sessions emphasizing ABSITE and oral exam preparation, surgical simulation, case presentations, and critical literature appraisal. 

The Program Director and the Department Chair also meet regularly with each resident class to discuss PGY level-specific issues and provide insight and solutions. 

Wellness

SUNY Downstate has initiated several efforts to ensure resident, faculty, and staff wellness, including the GME Wellness Sub-Committee. This committee has developed campus-wide efforts to promote healthy clinical and educational work environments. These efforts include participation and celebration of the National Resident Appreciation Day, providing food to all overnight house staff, securing the location of a residents’ wellness lounge, and improving on streamlining emergent mental health referrals for all trainees. All residents are educated at orientation via required modules from the AMA, including Physicians Caring for Ourselves, Sleep Deprivation: Your Life and Your Work, Thriving Through Residency: The Resilient Resident, Using Tools to Form an Action Plan for Wellness.

Furthermore, the residency-led Wellness Committee has been established to prioritize overall well-being and camaraderie by organizing various activities and events that promote a holistic, healthy lifestyle and work environment.

Rotations

First year: Five months are devoted to general surgery, one month each to vascular surgery, trauma, transplant, pediatric surgery, cardiac surgery and elective (ENT or Urology).

Second year: Residents spend half of their time on general surgery, acting as assistant residents on various services. The remaining time is spent rotating through trauma, general surgical, and cardiothoracic intensive care units, and more surgical sub-specialties such as vascular and pediatric surgery.

Third year: This year provides the bridge between junior and senior residency rotations. Usually, six months are spent as senior assistant resident on one of the larger general surgery services.

At one of our affiliate hospitals, the PGY3 serves as the senior resident, and scrubs on all the major cases. There are also two-month rotations on vascular surgery, trauma, burn and general surgery.

Fourth and fifth years: These are devoted to developing surgical decision-making capability, as well as perfecting the technical ability acquired during the first three years. During the fourth year, residents spend one month on the endoscopic/laparoscopic unit and two months supervising junior residents in the SICU. Major emphasis is placed on the teaching of surgical skills, both technical and didactic, to junior residents and students. PGY4 residents also rotate as the senior resident on the transplant and pediatric surgical services.

The fifth year is devoted to rotations through services of the core curriculum, such as general, vascular and trauma services.