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Education

Our graduating 2021 Graduating Chiefs at Kinnick Stadium with the hospital behind them.

The department has an approved residency in general surgery leading to Board Certification by the American Board of Surgery. John Sharp, MD, served as the residency program director from 1991 until 2017, and was appointed Vice Chair of Education in the Department of Surgery in 2012. In 2017, Julia Shelton, MD, MPH, assumed the role of residency program director. There are currently 36 surgical residents and we have the approval to finish six chief residents each year. One to two years of research is available to residents who are interested in a career in academic surgery.

The UI Department of Surgery has approved fellowships in bariatric, critical care, pediatric, plastic, transplantation, and vascular surgery. Medical students in their third year rotate through surgery as part of their core clerkship. Fourth year sub-internships, advanced general surgery electives, and research opportunities are available in the division.

On clinical services, general surgery residents benefit from a careful separation of responsibilities between senior residents and fellow. Our program trains residents to enter fellowships or private practices all over the United States while also preparing them to engage with research if they wish. For more information on the general surgery residency, please check out our Graduate Medical Offices webpage.