Curriculum

The surgery residency curriculum is comprehensive and encompasses basic science, technical skill development, clinical knowledge, and development of surgical judgment and maturity through early operating experiences, weekly conferences, and bedside teaching.

Weekly conference lectures are given by senior residents and fellows. Core general surgery didactics are based on the SCORE curriculum with the goal of helping residents graduate with the necessary surgical knowledge to be a successful surgeon.

We have a competency-based curriculum that includes specific goals & objectives for each year and each rotation. The graduated responsibility assures that the resident develops competency in all areas as they progress.

Conferences

The following conferences are held weekly:

• Burn Conference
• Critical Care/Trauma
• Journal Club
• Morbidity and Mortality
• SCORE Conference
• Surgery School
• Skills Lab
• Grand Rounds
• Cancer Conference
• Vascular Conference
• Multidisciplinary Critical Care Conference

SKILLS LAB & SIMULATION CENTER

The Skills lab is a weekly session held at the CRMC Department of Surgery Conference Room as well as the UCSF Fresno Clinical Skills Lab. A variety of topics are covered, and ranges from suturing and knot tying to more complex topics such as use of stapling devices, bowel anastomosis, ventilator management, and offers a cadaver lab.

There are clinical scenario exercises using the SimMan. The program also has a Simulation Lab located at the UCSF Fresno building where residents have 24/7 access to a high fidelity laparoscopic simulator, FLS trainer systems, and a GI/Bronch Mentor.

UCSF Fresno is a Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS) test center through the Department of Surgery. Testing is offered throughout the year and is the only test center located in the Central Valley.

Residents participate in an annual “Surgical X-Games” where residents compete against one another in different skill categories. The winners of the event are selected to attend the ACS Northern California Chapter annual meeting and compete in the Surgical Jeopardy and Laparoscopic Bowl against other Northern California surgery residencies.

Our residents have participated and won the ACS Northern California Chapter Laparoscopic Bowl and Surgical Jeopardy.

Most recently, our residents won first place in the 2019 Annual ACS Clinical Congress Surgical Skills Competition.

RESIDENT WELLNESS

UCSF Fresno and the Department of Surgery are dedicated to ensuring that our residents remain healthy in all facets (physical, mental, professional, and social) while completing their training.  We understand that residency can be a stressful time and it is important to us that you get the most out of this educational experience. 

UCSF Fresno offers a wide variety of wellness opportunities that help you maintain a balanced life. More information can be found on their page.

https://www.fresno.ucsf.edu/wellness-resources/

In an effort to assist in maintaining a healthy life/work balance, the Department of Surgery regularly hosts wellness events for our residents, fellows, and faculty.

Resident Wellness events include:

• Rope Course & Blind Canoe Racing at Wonder Valley Ranch
• Team Dinner and Games at Dave & Busters
• Hiking & Boating at Shaver Lake
• Team 5k Runs benefiting Central California Food Bank and Toys for Tots
• Hosted Meal at Terry’s House
• Holiday Parties
• Happy Hour
• Grand Rounds Book Club

Terry’s House Hosted Dinners

Wonder Valley Retreat

Resources

TED Talks for when you feel burned out: https://www.ted.com/playlists/245/talks_for_when_you_feel_totall

Burnout tools from the American College of Physicians: https://www.acponline.org/practice-resources/physician-well-being-and-professional-fulfillment/individual-physician-well-being-and-burnout-tools

Reading List/Audible List:

Mobile apps: Calm, 10% Happier, Headspace

Reading list/audible list:

• “The Universe Versus Alex Woods” (Gavin Extence)
• “A History of the Present Illness” (Louise Aronson)
• “In Stitches” (Anthony Youn)
• “State of Wonder” (Ann Patchett)
• “Requiem for the Bone Man” (R.A. Communale)
• “Cutting for Stone” (Abraham Verghese)
• “Operation Wandering Soul” (Richard Powers)
• “The Resurrectionist” (Matthew Guinn)
• “Philanthropist: a Novel” (Larry Hill)
• “Dirty Work” (Gabriel Weston)
• “The Plague Tales” (Ann Benson)
• “Doctored: the Disillusionment of an American Physician” (Sandeep Jauhar)
• “On Call: A Doctor’s Days and Nights in Residency” (Emily Transue)
• “What Doctors Feel: How Emotions Affect the Practice of Medicine” (Danielle Ofri)
• “Letters to a Young Doctor” (Richard Selzer)
• “The Doctor Stories” (Richard Selzer)
• “As I Live and Breathe: Notes of a Patient-Doctor” (Jamie Weisman)
• “The Emperor of All Maladies” (Siddhartha Mukherjee)
• “Intern: A Doctor’s Initiation” (Sandeep Jauhar)
• “Attending Children: A Doctor’s Education” (Margaret Mohrmann)
• “God’s Hotel: A Doctor, A Hospital, and a Pilgrimage to the Heart of Medicine” (Victoria Sweet)
• “Final Exam” (Pauline Chen)
• “Something for the Pain: Compassion and Burnout in the ER” (Paul Austin)
• “Hot Lights, Cold Steel: Life, Death and Sleepless Nights in a Surgeon’s First Years” (Michael J Collins)
• “Between Expectations: Lessons from a Pediatric Residency” (Meghan Weir)
• “Run with the Horsemen” (Ferrol Sams)
• “When Breath Becomes Air” (Paul Kalanithi)
• “In Shock” (Rama Awdish)
• “The Anatomy of Hope: How People Prevail in the Face of Illness” (Jerome Groopman)
• On Mortality” (Atul Gawande)
• “How Doctors Think” (Jerome Groopman)
• “Critical Care” (Richard Dooling)
• “Love and Modern Medicine” (Perri Klass)
• “Still Alice” (Lisa Genova)

Department of Surgery Wellness Champions

ROTATIONS

The intern year consists of thirteen 4-week blocks and includes the following rotations:

Rotations

PGY1: Trauma, Burns/Plastics, Neurosurgery, Orthopedic surgery, Elective Surgery, Surgical ICU, Anesthesia, Emergency Department/Research, Surgical Oncology

PGY2: Trauma ICU, Surgical ICU, Vascular, CT Surgery, Breast Surgery
PGY3: Pediatric Surgery, Transplant, General Surgery, Surgical Oncology, Vascular Surgery, Acute Care Surgery
PGY4: Trauma/Acute Care, Burns/Plastics, Colorectal, Minimally Invasive Surgery, Thoracic
PGY5: Trauma/Acute Care, Elective General surgery, Vascular Surgery, Surgical Oncology

Rotations during the PGY-2 through PGY-5 years are at various hospital sites in Fresno. They include Fresno Heart and Surgical Hospital, Clovis Community Medical Center, St. Agnes Medical Center, and Valley Children’s Hospital. The Transplant rotation takes place at the UCSF Parnassus campus, and residents live at a fully furnished apartment provided by UCSF Fresno.

Aldea San Miguel Apartment in San Francisco, CA

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