The Department of Surgery offers both preliminary and categorical residency programs. The five-year categorical program is fully approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and after year five, residents are eligible for examination by the American Board of Surgery.

The preliminary program is available for one to two years, depending on individual circumstances. Positions at the first-year through second-year level fulfill the needs of individuals who require training in general surgery as a qualifying requirement for the surgical specialties, such as plastic surgery, orthopedic surgery, urology, ophthalmology and ENT. This training also prepares residents for surgically related fields, such as emergency medicine, anesthesiology and radiology. During all phases of training, the resident is offered a broad range of educational and clinical experience, with both institutional and private patients drawn from a large urban population.

Surgical residents rotate at all the sites within Beth Israel Medical Center, including the Petrie Division and Phillips Ambulatory Care Center and the Kings Highway Division in Brooklyn. The Petrie Division is the Manhattan campus University Hospital for the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and is the site of most rotations. The Petrie Division is a 500-bed tertiary care Level II trauma center located in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. All full-service surgical services are provided at Petrie.

CLINICAL AFFILIATIONS & ROTATIONS
House staff rotations include Beth Israel Medical Center, Petrie and Kings Highway Division in Brooklyn; NYU Medical Center (Transplant); Lincoln Medical Center (Trauma); Jacobi Medical Center (Burns).

PGY-1 and PGY-2
During the first year, the residency training emphasizes pre- and post-operative care, diagnosis, surgical physiology and the fundamentals of surgical technique. The house officer has the opportunity to perform many surgical procedures under supervision, commensurate with his or her abilities and level of training. A team approach is used to provide continuity of patient care. During the second year, the resident is allowed to exercise more independent judgment and to provide in-patient and emergency room consultation. In addition PGY-2 spend considerable time caring for critically ill patients (SICU, Burn ICU, and Transplant) to fine-tune their diagnostic and treatment skills.

First-year rotations 
General Surgery (including Breast, and Colorectal , ~ 4 months)
Vascular Surgery (~ 2 months)
Thoracic Surgery ( ~ 1 month)
Anesthesia ( 1 Month)
Urology ( 1 Month)
Head and neck Surgery (1 Month)
SICU ( 1 – 2 months)
Vacation ( 1 month)
Trauma (1 month for categorical residents)

Second-year rotations
General Surgery (~ 4 months)
   Kings Highway Division (~ 2 months)

  Transplant Surgery ( ~ 1 month) NYU Medical Center
SICU (~ 1 - 2  months)
BURN Unit (~ 1 month) Jacobi Medical Center, Bronx, NY
ER and Consultative Service ( ~ 2 – 3 months)

PGY-3 and PGY-4
In their third and fourth years, residents are encouraged to pursue clinical research. If desired, a year of traditional research can be added to the training program on an individual basis after the PGY 2 or PGY 3 year. All residents who complete the program are expected to complete a clinical research project and submit a paper for publication. Residents are reimbursed for travel to conferences at which they present the results of their research projects.

In addition to general surgery rotations during the PGY 3 and PGY 4 years, a considerable amount of time is spent in learning the art and science of trauma evaluation and treatment, and in the ambulatory surgery setting. These rotations are most suitable for the PGY-3 and PGY-4 level, during which time the resident possesses the core knowledge base necessary to exercise independent clinical judgment. Significant exposure to endoscopy is provided throughout the 3rd and 4th year. Beth Israel Medical Center has long stressed surgical competence in endoscopy, and a large portion of the faculty is involved in this educational component.

PGY-5 (Chief YEAR)
In their final year, the chief surgical residents are assigned to surgical teams for which they assume full responsibility. This includes performing all service procedures other than those they delegate to a senior or junior resident. In addition to gaining considerable experience in complex abdominal surgery, the resident performs many major thoracic, vascular, pediatric, and head and neck procedures. Surgical residents perform an average of 250 to 300 progressively complex operations per year. The chief surgical resident is responsible for conducting teaching rounds with junior house officers and medical students and for the preparation of staff conference programs.

Surgical & Clinical Responsibilities
Under attending physician supervision, residents run active clinics in the following areas:
General and vascular surgery
Pediatric surgery
Proctology
Breast surgery
Head and neck surgery
Surgical oncology
Plastic Surgery
Neurosurgery

Didactic Programs
The teaching program in the General Surgery residency is robust, energetic and dynamic. It is specifically designed to ensure that residents acquire the core basic science and clinical knowledge necessary to expert care of patients. While it is impossible to list the details of each lecture and lecture series a brief synopsis is included below.
Weekly Morbidity and Mortality conference
Bi-weekly Grand Rounds
Weekly Attending Team Walk Rounds
Weekly Basic Science Core Curriculum lecture (2 lectures each week)
Monthly Journal Club
Monthly Laparoscopic Skills Laboratory
Monthly Resident Presentations
Biannual Mock Oral Board
Mid-year ABSITE Mock Test
Annual NYC Wide ABSITE Review Course
Weekly Head and Neck Tumor Board
Weekly Gastrointestinal Tumor Board
Weekly Breast Tumor Board

2009-2010 Class
 

Click Here to see Former Chief Residents