The curriculum for the PCOM General Surgery Residency Program is a dynamic one and changes are continually being made to ensure that each residency class has the optimal clinical and academic experience.
Academic excellence, not only operating room technique, are key components of the PCOM surgical education. PCOM hold Surgical Grand Rounds each week which consists of a variety of lectures, case presentations, mortality & morbidity conference and journal club.
Some of the subspecialty months that our residents complete include:
Pediatric Surgery
Vascular & Endovascular Surgery
Surgical Critical Care & Trauma Surgery
Burn Surgery & Burn Intensive Care
Surgical Oncology
Colon & Rectal Surgery
PCOM residents develop a strong background in minimally invasive surgical techniques. Residents will have the opportunity to perform a number of bariatric surgery procedures including minimally invasive gastric banding, laparoscopic colon resections and also gain experience using the DaVinci Robotic Surgery System. PCOM residents participate in a number of head & neck surgery, plastic & reconstructive surgery and acute care surgery cases. Experience with esophagoscopy/endoscopy/colonoscopy and office & outpatient surgical procedures are also important for the education of the general surgeon so PCOM provides ample opportunity for residents to develop these skills.
PGY 1
The first year of the program allows residents to focus on the basic surgical and medical knowledge needed to become a competent general surgeon. First year residents complete rotations in Internal Medicine, Medical Intensive Care Unit, Urologic Surgery, Family Practice, Emergency Medicine and General Surgery. Special emphasis is places on patient management, running an efficient surgical service, performing bedside procedures and learning to triage surgical patients. First year residents spend one day per week in an outpatient general surgery office where they will gain experience in both preoperative work-up and postoperative followup care. Time is also set aside for first year residents to spend time in the PCOM Simulation Lab where they can practice skills ranging from running a code, working up a trauma patient and performing operative procedures on the laparoscopic simulator.
PGY 2
The second year residents begin to complete rotations which allow them to have more time spent in the operating room while still focusing on preoperative and postoperative patient management. Special emphasis is placed on developing the necessary technical skills and clinical decision making abilities to be able tocare for the most critically ill and traumatically injured patients. PGY 2 residents in the PCOM program will gain a broad experience working in several different Intensive Care Unit settings and become adept at managing patients on ventilators as well as patients with invasive monitoring and assist devices such as central venous catheters, arterial catheters, Swan-Ganz catheters and aortic balloon pumps.
PGY 3
The third year of the residency program allows the residents to develop more autonomy in decision making while further developing their skills in the operating room. PGY 3 residents will have a significant amount of time spent in the operating room under the supervision of a Chief level residents, often acting as primary surgeon for the case. Third year acts as a transition from a junior resident to a senior resident and offers many opportunities for overseeing both first and second year residents while still having the guidance of upper-level colleagues.
PGY 4
Fourth year residents rotate primarily through sites where they will have direct on-on-one interaction with an Attending who can assist them in developing their own operative style. As with the the PGY 3 year, the PGY 4 year offers significant amount of time in the OR with a Chief level resident who can assist them in maker proper intraoperative decisions and help them transition to their Chief year. There are several months where the fourth year resident will be acting as the most senior level resident on a particular service so he or she will have the experience of managing all aspects of a surgical service.
PGY 5
The fifth year is designed primarily for the resident to hone their operative skills in a general surgery atmosphere. PGY 5 residents will be overseeing services which may include several junior residents, interns, physician assistants and medical students. Both in-house and home call can be expected of the fifth year residents. The final year of the program is focused on operating room decision making as well as complete patient management. Senior residents are directly responsible for the preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative management of their patients. Senior level residents are also expected to act as moderators at Surgery Grand Rounds. They will present several lectures per year, run regular board-review sessions, proctor mock oral boards and run Mortality & Morbidity conference.
Residents can expect to finish the 5 year program with an average of 1,100 - 1,200 major cases as primary operating surgeon. | 
