For Current Residents

First Year

The first year class is a mix of categorical, designated and non-designated interns. Thirteen categorical surgical interns are accepted into the residency at the first-year (R-1) level. A typical year includes six months of general surgery and six months of surgical specialties. Residents are integral members of the surgical team and are directly responsible for patient care. A typical team consists of the R-1 intern, a junior resident and a chief surgical resident. Interns perform surgical procedures that are commensurate with their skills and training. In addition to direct patient care duties, interns are regular participants in teaching conferences and attending rounds. Residents also participate actively in teaching principles of surgery to medical students.

Second Year

During the second year (R-2), surgery residents share responsibility for intern and student teaching and may rotate through burn surgery, cardiothoracic surgery, general surgery, trauma, and pediatric surgery. Much of the year is spent on surgical specialties and intensive care, which provide intense experiences invaluable to the general surgeon, who must be skilled in the care of patients of all ages with complex problems, multisystem diseases, or injuries. The American Board of Surgery now requires all residents to have completed 250 cases by the end of their second year, which the OHSU general surgery residency program fully supports. Current ABS Residency Requirements

Third Year

The third year (R-3) is characterized by an increased operative experience in general surgery. Rotations on cardiopulmonary and vascular surgery are also included. Because of the advanced status of R-3's, they have increased responsibility in the performance of operative care. Residents have more advanced teaching responsibilities at this level.

Research Year (optional)

The resident's goal for this year is to learn how to design and implement basic or clinical research and to evaluate the medical literature critically. Opportunities for research projects are numerous and are arranged with preceptors in the Department of Surgery. The year is spent in OHSU or VAMC laboratories and other nationally prominent locations. In recent years, residents have spent up to two years working with faculty in facilities such as the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, and Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the goal of research residents to gain experience in designing and performing research projects, analyzing their data, writing papers and presenting their research at local, regional and national meetings. Work during the research year has led to numerous publications by residents in the department. Learn more about OHSU's research resident program.

Fourth Year

During their fourth year (R-4), residents have increasing responsibility for providing complex care in general surgery. Residents rotate on general surgery at Kaiser Sunnyside and St. Vincent Hospital; the pediatric surgery, transplantation, and head and neck services at OHSU; and trauma at OHSU or Emanuel Hospital. During the year they gain experience through expanded duties as senior residents in increased operative experience, team leadership and teaching.

Fifth Year

The fifth year (R-5), or "Chief Year," includes seven Chief Residents in general surgery, operating out of OHSU, the VAMC, Providence St. Vincent Medical Center, Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center, Legacy Emanuel Medical Center and Kaiser Sunnyside Medical Center. Chief residents are expected to perform a challenging number of surgical cases: approximately 450 cases. This experience provides an excellent operative record when applying to take the American Board of Surgery Qualifying Examination. While at the VAMC, residents have an opportunity to perform major head and neck surgery as well as peripheral vascular surgery. At OHSU, residents are responsible for care and management of general surgical patients and advanced problems in surgical oncology. Chief residents at medical centers of Legacy Good Samaritan, Kaiser Sunnyside, Legacy Emanuel and Providence St. Vincent are exposed to the full spectrum of general surgery, including vascular surgery. By the end of the fifth year, typical residents have performed a total of 750 to 1000 surgical cases over the course of their residency. More importantly, they are prepared for independent practice and have been exposed to a learning process that will continue throughout their professional lives.

Flexibility in Surgical Training Initiative (FIST)

OHSU is a member of the nine-institution FIST consortium that includes Brigham and Women's Hospital, Cornell University, Emory University, Johns Hopkins, Massachusetts General Hospital, Northwestern University, University of Oklahoma, and Washington University in St. Louis. Devised by the American Board of Surgery in 2013, FIST introduces flexibility into general surgery training by allowing up to 12 months of flexible rotations in the last 24 months of residency. Residents at OHSU can tailor their last two years to increase exposure in their particular area of interest.

Resident Rotation Schedule

PGY's 1-5 Resident Rotation Schedule

View current resident rotation assignments using Kronos EZCall

If you have an OHSU username and password, and are a trainee or EZCall system administrator, login using your OHSU Credentials (same as your email login/password). You must type in your full OHSU email address to log in - not just your username. If your login doesn't work, contact support@ezcall.com.

Overall Level-Specific Goals and Objectives

PGY-1 Overall Goals and Objectives

PGY-2 Overall Goals and Objectives

PGY-3 Overall Goals and Objectives

PGY-4 Overall Goals and Objectives

PGY-5 Overall Goals and Objectives

Rotation goals and objectives can also be found in MedHub

Teaching Conferences

The Department of Surgery sponsors weekly teaching conferences with active participation by the residents vigorously encouraged. Monday's Resident Conferences provide an in-depth review of the basic and clinical science of surgery and its specialties in a systematic fashion over a period of two years. Readings for the week are distributed to all residents before each conference and sessions are designed to be interactive. The sessions provide key information to aid in preparation for the annual in-training examination and, eventually, for the American Board of Surgery Qualifying Examination. The Morbidity and Mortality Conference (M&M) and Surgery Grand Rounds are held weekly for all Department of Surgery faculty and residents at OHSU and the VAMC. Off-site medical centers, such as St. Vincent, Good Samaritan, Emanuel and Kaiser Sunnyside, have their own weekly M&M Conferences. All residents are required to attend OHSU Grand Rounds despite location of rotation. The department faculty are also involved in numerous other specialty conferences which residents attend while on rotation for a particular service.

2018 July/August Intern Conference Schedule

Specialty Conferences While on Rotation
Please note: upon introduction to a service, a resident may receive further information about required conference attendance that may not be indicated here.

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