Ross surgery room_surgeons in surgery

Training each Buckeye to be a confident, independent surgeon

Every resident and fellow of The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center Department of Surgery is supported as they pursue their unique professional and personal goals. Because our program offers a customizable training path, each resident can choose from a broad range of education opportunities to craft a personal experience that supports the career they envision.

Training

  • Clinical Skills Education and Assessment Center
    • State-of-the-art, high-fidelity simulation labs, including open, laparoscopic and task trainers
    • Video teleconferencing capabilities where surgeries happening anywhere in the world provide trainees a bird’s-eye view of the surgery on one screen and from inside the patient on another, all while speaking with the physicians performing the procedure
    • Formal assessments and mentorship meetings
  • Live case experience, with PGY2 residents averaging more than 300 cases by the end of their PGY2 year
  • Novel alcohol-based soft tissue preservation extends reuse of donated bodies and significantly improves the ability to mimic living tissue

OR coaching program

  • Residents receive feedback from senior surgeons, in addition to the attending for the case
  • Includes procedure-specific suggestions, as well as constructive comments related to technique and OR management, including small procedural changes or potentially negative habits that can be corrected before becoming ingrained
  • Observation and evaluations are completed for these common procedures:
    • Laparoscopic cholecystectomy
    • Inguinal hernia
    • Ventral hernia
    • Laparoscopic colectomy
    • Robotic cholecystectomy
    • Robotic inguinal hernia
    • Open colectomy
    • Total thyroid
    • Parathyroid
  • To date, we have completed 184 OR coaching sessions/cases and 549 SEPAs evaluations for coaching
  • All chief residents completed six expected coaching sessions
  • The four current faculty coaches are Courtney Collins, MD, MS; Aslam Ejaz, MD, MPH; Amber Traugott, MD; and Michael Go, MD

Upgraded robotic curriculum

  • Leads to a da Vinci Equivalency Certificate
  • Begins with a series of dry labs, followed by case-specific pig labs, including high-volume procedures such as colectomy, gastrectomy and pancreatectomy
  • Additional simulation training available during each surgical rotation

Lead, Engage, Accelerate, Drive in Surgery (LEAD)

  • This leadership elective is available to PGY 2-5 general surgery and lab residents
  • The one-year course teaches effective leadership skills, crucial for a successful surgical career
  • Small class size of 15 or fewer promotes discussion and input from varied perspectives
  • To learn more, visit medicine.osu.edu/lead

Exposure to varied surgical settings

  • University Hospital
  • The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute
  • Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital
  • Ohio State East Hospital
  • Nationwide Children’s Hospital
  • Outpatient surgery centers across central Ohio

Education Team

If you want to learn more about our education options and how they can be customized to each trainee’s interests, please contact our education team members:

  • Brittany Williams – program manager, General Surgery Residency
  • Anna Patterson – program manager, Research Education
  • Lori Bardon – program manager, divisions of General and Gastrointestinal Surgery; Colon and Rectal Surgery; and Trauma, Critical Care and Burn
  • Monique Singleterry Wells – program coordinator, divisions of Cardiac Surgery, and Vascular Diseases and Surgery
  • Jennifer Long – program manager, Division of Surgical Oncology
  • Xiaodong (Phoenix) Chen, PhD, MSc, BEng – senior director of Education Science
  • Anne Krabacher, PhD – director of Education

Personal career development

All residents complete a minimum one-year research experience or a specialty fellowship during their residency, unless otherwise exempted.

Subspecialty surgical fellowships

  • Advanced therapeutic endoscopy and gastrointestinal surgery
  • Cardiothoracic surgery
  • Colorectal surgery
  • Surgical critical care
  • Abdominal transplant surgery
  • Pediatric surgery
  • Pediatric surgical critical care
  • Surgical oncology
  • Vascular surgery
  • Minimally invasive surgery
  • Bariatric surgery

Research Training Program

  • This includes a mentored research project in any area of interest and completion of an advanced degree such as:
    • Master of Medical Science, with a track in translational, clinical, health services and medical education research
    • Master of Public Health
    • Master of Business Administration
    • An alternate Master of Science degree, such as a Master of Science in Anatomy
  • To learn more, visit medicine.osu.edu/rtp

Residency Wellness Program

The Ohio State Department of Surgery recognizes the unique stressors of residency and offers a wellness program to support the physical, mental, social and professional wellness of our residents. Our residency wellness committee plans themed events and outings, such as our Resident Appreciation Day at Cedar Point, to help our trainees establish unity and maintain a supportive environment.

Cardiothoracic surgery integrated residency (New)

  • Six-year integrated program to prepare for specialization in cardiothoracic surgery in both academic and community settings
  • Rotation on both general and cardiothoracic services at the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center, and complete rotations on the congenital heart service at Nationwide Children’s Hospital
  • To learn more, visit medicine.osu.edu/ctsurgery

Vascular surgery residency (New)

  • One of the few integrated vascular surgery residency programs in the nation
  • Five-year program develops competency in the surgical treatment of patients with complicated vascular conditions and prepares trainees to serve in both academic and clinical care settings
  • To learn more, visit medicine.osu.edu/vascular