Surgery
Chair:
Mary Hawn, MD
Department web site:
http://surgery.stanford.edu
Faculty of Surgery:
http://med.stanford.edu/profiles/surgery
Department Offices:
300 Pasteur Drive, Always Bldg, M121
Stanford, CA 94305
Mail code: 5115
Phone: 650-498-4292
Courses offered by the Department of Surgery are listed under the subject code SURG on Stanford Bulletin’s ExploreCourses web site.
The Department of Surgery does not offer degrees; however, its faculty teach numerous courses open to medical students, graduate students, and undergraduates. There are also a number of courses specifically for undergraduates. The department accepts students in other curricula as advisees for study and research. All students may also arrange individual research projects under the supervision of the department's faculty.
The Department of Surgery is a leader in all types of research, from basic science to clinical trials, and the translational research that bridges the gap. In addition to robust research programs in all Divisions, the Department houses the Asian Liver Center, Cohn Bioskills Laboratory, Goodman Surgical Simulation Center, Hagey Laboratory, Medical Visualization Studio, Surgery Center for Outcomes and Research Evaluation, and Transplant Immunology Laboratory.
INSTRUCTION FOR MEDICAL STUDENTS
Preclinical instruction is offered by the divisions of Clinical Anatomy, Emergency Medicine, General Surgery, Plastic Surgery, Pediatric Surgery and Vascular Surgery.
The required core course in Anatomy provides a strong foundation in the structure and function of the human body. The course strongly emphasizes the clinical importance of anatomical knowledge. The rapid growth of computerized imaging techniques has brought about an increased interest in cross-sectional anatomy, and the course prepares students to use these techniques during their clinical careers. Elective offerings include Introduction to Surgery, Clinical Anatomy, Digital Anatomy, Plastic Surgery, EMT Training, Emergency Medicine, Wilderness Medicine, Global Humanitarian Medicine, Introduction to Vascular Surgery, and Operative Anatomy and Techniques.
Directed reading and research opportunities are available under the direction of individual faculty members.
Clinical instruction courses offered by the clinical divisions of the Department are intended to provide students with a basic overview of surgery and its specialties, with emphasis on common disorders, examination of patients, clinical testing, diagnosis, and treatment. The general surgery core clerkship offered at Stanford University Medical Center, Palo Alto Veteran’s Administration Medical Center, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center and Kaiser Permanente Medical Center Santa Clara provides experience with patients who have various disease entities and who are usually evaluated and treated by general surgeons and subspecialty surgeons.. The students are members of a surgical team evaluating and treating these patients. Basic surgical skills are taught in the operating room, in the emergency department setting, and in the Goodman Simulation Ccenter. All clinical divisions offer elective clerkships in surgical specialties. A complete list of clinical clerkships may be found in the School of Medicine Course Catalog at http://medcatalog.stanford.edu/php/clerklist.php?DNo=838.
RESIDENCY TRAINING
Residency programs offer training in general surgery, emergency medicine, vascular surgery, and plastic and reconstructive surgery. To broaden the scope of experience, the Palo Alto Veteran’s Administration Medical Center, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center and Kaiser Permanente Medical Center Santa Clara are incorporated into Stanford University Medical Center programs.. Each hospital adds a unique element to the total surgical experience for the trainee. Each program is supervised by full-time faculty members and administered by the Department.
General Surgery is a five-year fully accredited program offered to qualified physicians. The goal of the program is to train future leaders of American Surgery by offering a diverse program demanding in clinical experience that also provides an environment for scientific development. The five-year program includes opportunities for one, two, or three years of research experience which are generally undertaken at the completion of the second year. Clinical rotations range from one to three months with graded responsibility in the diagnosis and management of patients with surgical diseases. Trainees develop outstanding technical skills and typically perform between 1,100-1,200 major operative cases throughout the course of training. At the completion of the program, trainees are qualified to take the American Board of Surgery examination.
Plastic Surgery is a six-year, fully accredited, integrated program in plastic and reconstructive surgery. The program is designed to broadly educate surgeons in the numerous facets of plastic surgery to develop world leaders in plastic surgery. Mastery of the literature and technical expertise are required as well as research and publication. Training takes place in the group of affiliated hospitals, each of which, like Stanford, is staffed with its own complete division and full-time faculty. Included in the specialized curriculum is emergency as well as elective (aesthetic) plastic surgery cases, hand and microsurgery, pediatric and craniofacial surgery, burn and trauma surgery, head and neck surgery.
Vascular Surgery has two tracks, with an integrated “0+5” residency with the match out of medical school, and the traditional two-year, fully accredited fellowship program in vascular and endovascular surgery following the completion of an accredited training program in general surgery. The programs are complementary and both are aimed at training future leaders in vascular surgery and provide a broad clinical experience in diagnosis, patient care, operative, vascular surgery, non-invasive diagnosis, and endovascular surgical techniques. In addition, there is broad opportunity for research and academic training. A trainee will learn pre- and postoperative diagnosis and care as well as fundamental knowledge in the pathogenesis of vascular disease and artery wall biology. Trainees will perform more than 300 Category I vascular reconstructive cases and five-year integrated residents will perform over 500 cases, with both groups of trainees qualified to sit for examination by the American Board of Surgery for certification in vascular surgery.
Multi-Organ Transplantation is a two-year training program, accredited (in renal and liver transplantation) by the American Society for Transplant Surgery, following the completion of an accredited training program in general surgery. The goal of the program is to provide the trainee with sufficient experience in all aspects of multi-organ transplantation (kidney, liver, and pancreas) to function independently as a proficient transplant surgeon. The program provides a broad experience in clinical transplantation, including evaluation of potential recipients, organ procurement and preparation of grafts, surgery and preoperative care, and postoperative and ICU care. An optional third year of the fellowship provides opportunities in basic transplantation immunobiology research.
POSTDOCTORAL TRAINING
Postdoctoral training opportunities are available. For information, refer to the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs home page at http://postdocs.stanford.edu or the departmental home page.
