Surgery Residency Training Program

Department of Surgery
Residency Program
Telephone: (602) 344-5601


Information on:

A Letter from the Chairman

Program Overview
Meet the Department
The Teaching Plan
Conferences/Didactic Learning
Curriculum by:
PGY I (1st Year Res)
PGY II (2nd Year Res)
PGY III (3rd Year Res)
PGY IV (4th Year Res)
Chief Surgical Resident
Benefits
Integrations & Affiliations
Application Process
Current Available Positions
Resident Contracts & Application Policies
Research


A Letter from the Chairman

One of the most important decisions you will make early in your surgical career is deciding upon which postgraduate training program best fits your needs. At Maricopa Medical Center, you will find an outstanding surgical residency program with rigorous, hands-on training, a challenging didactic teaching curriculum, and a very diverse clinical experience.

The Surgery Residency Program provides an incredible opportunity for surgical trainees. As a tertiary care and referral facility as well as a Level I Burn and Trauma Center, all our surgical residents are routinely exposed to a variety of cases most residents do not experience until their senior or chief years. Residents are given clinical and surgical responsibilities from day one. Our close relationship with several affiliated institutions such as the University of Arizona, Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale Healthcare, Arizona Heart Institute and Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland Oregon, provides our residents with a diverse patient population and a wide variety of preoperative, operative, and postoperative experiences, both in the private and public sector. During a resident’s off-hours, terrific weather and a health outdoor lifestyle can be enjoyed year-round. I invite you to apply to our program and we look forward to hearing from you.

Daniel M. Caruso, MD

Chairman

Surgery Residency Program Overview

The General Surgery Residency Program is based at Maricopa Medical Center, a 555-bed acute care hospital located near the heart of downtown Phoenix. Maricopa Medical Center is a tertiary referral center for ambulatory care and long-term care within Maricopa County, as well as the state of Arizona. Maricopa Medical Center's primary mission is providing care for the poor in the community. The hospital sees a large case load in Level I Trauma, and the 20-bed burn unit serves as the statewide Burn Center. In addition to the main hospital, there are 12 Primary Care Centers. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education has granted continuous approval to the five-year program since 1954. General Surgery and the surgical specialties use 106 beds at Maricopa Medical Center.


Meet the Department

Daniel Caruso, M.D., F.A.C.S.
Director, Arizona Burn & Trauma Center
Director, Respiratory Care Services
Chairman, Department of Surgery

Kevin N. Foster, M.D.
Program Director, General Surgery
Director, Arizona Burn & Trauma Center
Director of Surgical Research


Tammy R. Kopelman, M.D., F.A.C.S.
Director, Surgical Critical Care
Associate Director, Trauma Center

Marc R. Matthews, M.D.
Director, Trauma
Associate Director, Arizona Burn Center

Patrick J. O'Neill, PhD, M.D.
Associate Director, Arizona Burn & Trauma Center
Associate Director of Research, Trauma Division
Associate Director, Surgical Intensive Care Unit


The Teaching Plan

The General Surgery Program at Maricopa Medical Center is currently approved for 26 residents, four at the second, third, fourth and fifth-year levels, and ten interns (four categorical and six preliminary). All surgery residents rotate on the various surgical specialties including burn, neurosurgery, ED, trauma, anesthesiology, research, transplant, advanced laparoscopy, orthopedic surgery, otolaryngology, pediatric surgery, plastic surgery, surgical intensive care, cardio-thoracic, urology and vascular. Each service is supervised by an attending surgeon chief who provides continuing guidance for that service. The attending chief makes frequent patient rounds with his/her team. On operating days, the assigned service schedules its largest operating load and ordinarily its more complex operations.

On clinic days, each service has a clinic where newly referred patients are evaluated and established patients are seen for follow-up.

Traumas are handled by the on-call trauma team and the in-house trauma attending. In general, trauma call is every 5th night. The PGY-I house officer generally takes in-house call every 4th night (5:00 pm to 7:00am).

Conferences/Didactic Learning

The department holds many educational conferences, four of which are mandatory for all residents in the General Surgery Program. The mandatory conferences include the weekly Morbidity and Mortality Conference, a weekly Surgical Grand Rounds, a monthly Journal Club, and weekly Basic Science Review.

Other conferences depending on rotation and PGY Level include:
  • Trauma Morbidity and Mortality Conference
  • Burn Conference
  • Tumor Board
  • Pediatric Lecture
  • Cameron Conference
  • Trauma/SICU Lecture
Residents are invited to be members on many of the surgery committees, including the Conference and Curriculum Committee and the Research and Publications Committee. These committees provide our residents with an opportunity to openly express their views and make recommendations concerning the teaching program.

Curriculum by Post-Graduate Years

As residents advance from year to year, they assume increasing responsibility for the care of their patients.

The PGY I trainee is responsible for the initial work-up and basic care of all new patients on his/her service, under the supervision of the chief resident and attending. Depending on experience and demonstrated ability, the intern may perform such operations as amputations, appendectomies, herniorrhaphies, hemorrhoidectomies or other minor procedures, with the assistance of a more senior surgeon. The average PGY I will perform 100 cases.

The PGY II trainee will rotate on services designed to prepare the resident for subsequent advanced education in general surgery, and/or any of the specialty surgeries. The resident rotates on trauma, vascular, SICU, and plastics.

The PGY III trainee functions as the senior resident on 2 of 4 rotations. He/she rounds with the junior residents, and performs major operations with an attending surgeon who will supervise and/or assist. The resident rotates on burn, pediatric surgery, and 2 general surgery services.

The PGY IV trainee serves as a chief resident during outside rotations and is continually challenged with more complex surgical cases. The PGY IV assumes increasing responsibility for the management of both inpatients and outpatients. In addition to general surgery rotations, the PGY IV rotates on cardiothoracic, advanced laparoscopy, vascular, and transplant surgery services. These services expose the resident to both public and private practice settings. All 4 rotations are off campus.

Chief Surgical Resident

The chief surgical resident is responsible for the complete management and supervision of his/her service. The chief resident directs patient treatment and oversees the education of all interns and residents on the service under the guidance of the attendings. A PGY V conducts daily rounds on all patients, and performs and/or assigns operations to other members of the house staff under his/her supervision. Upon completion of five years of training, a resident is Board-Eligible. The average PGY V will perform 225 cases with an overall of 1,000 major cases throughout their 5 years. Rotation by Post-Graduate Year Schedule.

Benefits

PGY Is and IIs receive three weeks paid vacation. PGY IIIs, IVs and Vs receive four weeks paid vacation. Salaries for the 2006-2007 academic year are:

PGY I: $41,763.95
PGY II: $44,150.45
PGY III: $46,536.97
PGY IV: $48,923.48
PGY V: $52,503.29

Integrations & Affiliations

The General Surgery Program at Maricopa Medical Center is affiliated with the Arizona Heart Institute, Legacy Emmanuel Hospital, Portland, Oregon, the Mayo Clinic Scottsdale, and the University of Arizona. The affiliations provide our surgery residents with a diverse patient population and a wide variety of preoperative, operative and postoperative experiences.

Arizona Heart Institute

Arizona Heart Institute (AHI) is a leader in developing new technologies for preventing and treating cardiovascular disease. Leading cardiovascular experts provide our residents with instruction in the treatment of all aspects of heart and vessel disease. Medical Director and President, Edward B. Diethrich, M.D., oversees Arizona Heart Institute's leadership in developing new technology. Fourth year residents gain exposure to the private patient population and emerging technologies in vascular surgery through immediate 'hands on' experience when they join the AHI surgical team.

Legacy Emmanuel Hospital - Portland, Oregon

Fourth year residents rotate on the Advanced Laparoscopic Service with Dr. Lee Swanstrom, Dr. Emma Patterson and Dr. Paul Hansen for three months. This experience provides extensive exposure to Minimally Invasive Surgery. Hepatobiliary, Gastro-esophageal and Morbid Obesity are just a few areas that residents will be exposed to. The program is internationally recognized and has a strong affiliation with SAGES (Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons). Residents rotate through Legacy Emmanuel, Legacy Good Samaritan and Portland Providence Hospitals while enjoying the beauty of the Pacific Northwest. There is ample opportunity to become involved in research during this rotation with weekly meetings devoted to current research topics.

Mayo Clinic Hospital

The Transplant Center at Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale provides solid organ transplantation for liver, kidneys and pancreas. Established in 1999 at Mayo Clinic Hospital in northeast Phoenix, the program has quickly become recognized for its exceptional quality and multiple firsts in the state of Arizona. Since the program opened, the Center has completed 161 kidney transplants and 147 liver transplants. The key to the success of the program is collaboration with Mayo specialists at all three Mayo Clinic sites - Rochester, MN, Jacksonville, FL, and Scottsdale as well as the focus on Mayo's primary value - the needs of the patient come first. The Transplant Center has performed a number of firsts in Arizona. The first laparoscopic procedure for a living kidney transplant was completed in 1999 and continues to be the primary way in which living donor kidney transplants are done. The first living donor liver transplant in Arizona was also done at Mayo Clinic in April 2001 when a brother donated a portion of his liver to his brother. Then in January 2003, the Transplant Center performed the state's first domino liver transplant, a creative way to optimize the limited supply of donor organs. Fourth year residents rotate on the Transplant service for two months.

University of Arizona

The Maricopa Health System is a major affiliated teaching hospital with the University of Arizona, located in Tucson approximately 125 miles from MHS. Fourth year residents rotate with Dr. Jack Copeland and faculty on the Cardio-Thoracic Service for three months. MHS provides approximately 20% of the medical student teaching for third and fourth year students from the University of Arizona. MHS provides a large variety of fourth year rotations and electives for University of Arizona students.

Application Process for Academic Year 2006-2007

The General Surgery Training Program participates in the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP). Candidates are judged on the basis of academic background, letters of recommendation and interviews. The Department strictly follows EEOC guidelines. The Chairman and Program Director review all applications.
  • We accept a total of fourteen interns (4 categorical, 3 designated and 7 undesignated preliminary interns) and one PGY II preliminary. Designated preliminary candidates must submit proof of match to PGY II Program.
  • All positions are filled through the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP)
  • Our NRMP # is 189819
  • No pre-match positions available
Applications are accepted from Sept 2nd to December 1st. General Surgery is participating electronically via the ERAS program. Please note: Maricopa Medical Center does not sponsor visas of any kind (i.e., J1, J2, H1, H2, H3, or F1).

Required material for a complete application:
  • Submit application through ERAS
  • Curriculum Vitae
  • Your Dean's Letter.
  • Three letters of recommendation: one from the Chairman of Surgery and two from surgeons who can evaluate your performance during a general surgery clerkship (one letter must be from a USA physician).
  • Copy of a transcript from your medical school.
  • USMLE scores steps 1 and 2 (In general, the minimum score requirements are 85). MUST pass on first attempt.
  • Maximum of 4 years out of medical school.
  • Foreign Medical School/Graduates must submit a current ECFMG and CSA certificate. You will find the most current ECFMG requirements at the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates website ( http://www.ecfmg.org/ ).
  • MIHS does accept IMGs, however we do NOT sponsor visas of any kind.

Selected applicants are invited to interview on one of several formal interview days; November 9th, 16th & 30th; December 7th and 14th; and January 4th, 11th and 12th only). The agenda includes a briefing by the Chairman and Program Manager, a tour of the hospital and clinics, interviews with the Program Director, Attending Physicians and Residents. We also sponsor an informal meeting with the residents the night before and a formal lunch with the Attending Physicians, Residents and staff the day of the interview.


Current Available Positions

No openings at this time

Kim Kascht
Residency Program Manager
kim_kascht@medprodoctors.com
Office: (602) 344-5445
Fax: (602) 344-5048

Last updated on July 8, 2008