General Surgery Residency Program

Our goal when training residents is to prepare General Surgery graduates with the necessary skills to provide excellent patient care from day one. Whether choosing to enter private practice, academic surgery or fellowship, our graduates will be well prepared for their future in surgery.

The Valley Health System does not have surgical fellows. Therefore, residents have a high level of responsibility in the operating room, intensive care unit and hospital wards from the first day of training. By partnering with the numerous private surgeons throughout Las Vegas, residents get firsthand experience caring for patients with a wide range of surgical conditions in all environments.

• The VHS General Surgery Residency includes five hours weekly of protected time for didactic lectures, simulation curriculum, grand rounds, journal club, preoperative case discussion and M&M conference.
• Residents have full access to the Surgical Council of Resident Education (SCORE) curriculum. This material is completely online and, over a rotating two-year cycle, fully prepares residents for the American Board of Surgery (ABS) Certification Exam.
• Residents participate in the American College of Surgeons/Association of Program Directors in Surgery Surgical Skills Simulation Curriculum at all levels of their training. At the completion of residency, residents will be certified in Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS), Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS) and Fundamentals of Endoscopic Surgery (FES), as well as trained in ultrasound and robotic surgery.
• Residents complete work-life balance and mindfulness training and learn to recognize the signs of fatigue and burnout. They also have exposure to executive leadership and faculty development courses to improve their leadership skills and emerge as leaders in the surgical profession.
• VHS General Surgery residents monitor their progress with the New Innovations App. This allows faculty and residents to evaluate the residency program and each other. Entrustable Professional Activity (EPA) evaluations provide residents with faculty feedback after nearly every surgical encounter. Residents are also given feedback by everyone they come in contact with through 360 degree evaluations, which provides them the unique opportunity to monitor their interactions with all the stakeholders in The Valley Health System.
• Residents have the option to pursue research throughout their training. While dedicated research time is not mandatory, residents who choose to spend time in the lab can pursue research in basic science, translational research, outcomes research, global surgery or healthcare finance and advocacy after their second year.
• Residents use C-SATS, a video-based surgical skills training platform. Residents record their teaching cases, which are then reviewed by experts throughout the country. This allows for feedback, not only from local faculty, but from world experts who may provide insights into techniques that the resident would otherwise not be exposed to. This program helps residents to develop a library of cases for future reference, as well as provides an opportunity to develop mentorship outside of standard training models.

Rotation Schedule

Our sponsoring institution, The Valley Health System, consists of multiple hospitals in the Las Vegas region, providing most clinical rotations during residency. Residents spend five months of their training at Sunrise Hospital for their trauma experience, and one month at UCLA for Transplant and Hepatobiliary surgery. Residents who are interested in a formal research year are allowed to do so after their PGY-2 experience is complete.

Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

The VHS Surgery Residency Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) Committee is committed to encouraging progress towards representation of minority groups and discussion of minority issues. We fully endorse the American College of Surgeons philosophy that, “The College upholds the highest standards of leadership in our profession with its strong commitment to multiculturalism and equal opportunity, respecting and nurturing the diversity of its membership. It recognizes that specific recruitment and development of Fellows from diverse and under-represented groups is essential to enhancing the strength of the College.”

The VHS Surgery Residency JEDI Committee provides an opportunity for evaluation, education and mentoring of students, residents, faculty and staff of VHS in the medical and medico-professional issues experienced by underrepresented groups. The committee also seeks to actively recruit applicants who represent a diverse background.

Responsibilities of the committee include:

• Assessing the need and implementing group discussions of minority issues as pertaining to medical care, professional advancement and surgical training. These discussions occur each month as a component of well-being.
• Providing recommendations to our institution in reference to institutional policies that address diversity, equity and inclusion issues.
• Implementing and overseeing a mentorship program for community students interested in medicine or surgery.
• Providing financial assistance to residency applicants from underrepresented groups for visiting rotations.
• Selecting and interviewing applicant pool candidates from underrepresented groups in surgery.
• Interviewing potential candidates and participating in creation of the NRMP Match list.
• Identifying and recruiting a diverse group of professionals in the surgical community who may serve as guest speakers or mentors for surgical trainees.
• Participation in committees and presenting at societal meetings to further the mission of the VHS General Surgery Residency.
• Identifying and participating in volunteer opportunities within the local community.