Surgical Residency – Overview
The General Surgery Residency at East Carolina University (ECU) provides an outstanding, broad-based education in ECU Health Medical Center’s high volume, high acuity, tertiary care hospital. Serving 29 largely rural counties, we offer the full spectrum of complex care from ECMO to robotics for a diverse and underserved population in an academic setting. With approximately 40 faculty and 30 residents, we train surgeons to be ready for practice, competitive fellowships, and serve as leaders, patient advocates, and compassionate physicians.
About Our Program
The Mission of the General Surgery Training Program to graduate compassionate, competent and professional surgeons that will contribute positively to their patients’ lives and their communities. We seek to create a learning environment that trains surgeons to deliver excellent clinical care, advance healthcare quality, pursue teaching and research, and lead multidisciplinary teams. This mission aligns with the sponsoring institutions’ mission statement, “To improve the health and well-being of eastern North Carolina.”
Our busy medical center provides broad, varied surgical experiences including general surgery, minimally invasive surgery, transplantation, pediatric surgery, vascular surgery, plastic surgery, surgical oncology, thoracic surgery, trauma and critical care. Our team of 30 categorical and 4 preliminary residents work in close contact with faculty in a primary location with rural adjuncts for engaged mentoring and an integrated curriculum.
The uniqueness of the ECU Surgical Residency Program is derived from the following factors:
- The residency produces “toti-potential” general surgeons. Our graduates are competitively prepared for fellowships, academic positions, and direct entry into private practice.
- Our program supports resident interest in participating in opportunities to enhance their understanding of how to meet the needs of underserved populations. Our program uniquely offers rural surgery clinical rotations for senior residents. Opportunities exist to accompany faculty on surgical global outreach when those programs occur. All residents also have the opportunity to voluntarily participate in the ECU Global Health Fellowship and Underserved Populations (GHUPP) program https://medicine.ecu.edu/global-health/.
- We offer three Distinction Tracts to foster non-technical professional development. These include Clinician Educator, Research, and Quality and Health Systems Tracts.
- Our six-year program includes a year devoted to research and scholarly work. Occurring after the 3rd clinical year, this provides the opportunity to train in research methodology, ensures an academically competitive curriculum vitae, fosters national research networking opportunities, allows for individualization in training, and provides time for reflection and creativity. In cooperation with other programs at East Carolina University, some residents have pursued advanced degrees, such as MBA or MPH, during that year.
- The Department is dedicated to a high quality of life for faculty and residents. Our residents work hard, but there is also time for outside activates and family life. The overall environment is courteous, friendly, and most of all, supportive.
The Learning Facility and Environment
Our general surgery residency program a joint endeavor between ECU Health Medical Center and its academic affiliate, the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University which has recently integrated to ECU Health. This 974-bed hospital is the base of operations for ECU Health, a 9-hospital system providing the full spectrum of primary and tertiary care to 1.4 million people in 29 counties of eastern North Carolina. On an average day, ECU Health Medical Center admits more than one hundred patients and provides care for more than 300 patients in our emergency departments. The medical complex includes a dedicated Children’s Hospital, the East Carolina Heart Center, a dedicated Cancer Center tower and a nearby SurgiCenter. Outpatient clinics to support hospital-based rotations are located on the immediately adjacent Brody School of Medicine Campus. ECU Health Medical Center’s adult and pediatric inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation center on site provides additional opportunity for clinical education. The direct physical connection of the hospital to the medical school provides access to a certified Clinical Simulation Center. Approximately 27,000 operations are performed each year in 23 main operating rooms, 6 cardiovascular operating rooms, and 8 outpatient Surgicenter rooms. The facility includes three Da Vinci Xi robots with teaching consoles. A hybrid operating room permits advanced cardiovascular and neurosurgical procedures with imaging. The campus is growing and thriving with new facilities and updates to existing facilities constantly occurring.
Department Wellness Team
We are committed to evaluating and supporting department-wide wellness. Our approach is three-pronged: to develop team member resilience and tools, to address modifiable barriers to wellness, and to prevent and intervene on depression, burnout, and suicide.
Some of our activities include:
– Annual wellness forum that is resident driven to review data and brainstorm needs for the upcoming year
– Annual optional Professional Fulfillment Index survey
– Packet of Wellness resources (pdf)
– Financial Wellness information session
– Annual yearly confidential professional coaching visit
– Supportive environment for family leave
Susan Roberts making good use of the massage chair in the Resident lounge.