General Surgery Residency

General Surgery Residency On-Line Handbook

Resident Salaries/ Benefits

We are pleased to announce institutional approval to increase UTMB Resident/Fellow Staff salaries effective July 1, 2024.

Benefits for the Resident in Surgery

The UTMB benefit package provides employees with various means to protect against unexpected events and to advance personal goals and objectives. These benefits are a valuable component of the total employee compensation package.

Health Insurance: A comprehensive, low-deductible health insurance plan through Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas is available to our residents and their families, with monthly premiums covered in full by our GME office. View more information about the plan here.

Library: The Moody Medical Library is free and available to any employee.

Courses:

The Department of Surgery or UTMB pays for the following necessary courses taken through UTMB:

• BLS (Basic Life Support)
• ATLS (Advanced Trauma Life Support)
• ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support)

The department also pays for the following exams:

• FES (Fundamentals of Endoscopic Surgery)
• FLS (Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery)

Resident Development Fund

Licensure: The institution pays for each resident's temporary license to practice medicine and DEA license in Texas.

Vacation: Each resident receives three weeks of paid vacation each year.

Lab Coats/Scrubs: The Department provides lab coats and embroidered black jackets to each resident. OR Scrubs are available to surgery residents through ID badge access at UTMB, St. Joseph and MD Anderson.

Trips: At any time during residency, if a resident has a scientific paper accepted for presentation at a national meeting, the Department will reimburse expenses upon approval from the Program Director and Chair. There may be time away restrictions and a monetary cap.

Meal Cards

Parking: Each resident is eligible for parking in a large number of possible locations at different costs. UTMB Parking

• PGY-1 - Books issued
  PGY-2 - $200.00
  PGY-3 - $300.00
  PGY-4 - $350.00
  PGY-5 - $500.00

Research

All surgery residents are encouraged to participate in academic activity. Opportunities to spend dedicated time in research are available to residents who express interest. Residents who choose to pursue dedicated research time typically spend one to two years out of clinical training following their PGY-2 year. Interest in this pathway is typically discussed with the Program Director at the end of the PGY-1 year to begin securing a funded research position. Residents on research years take call once a months to maintain clinical skills.

Training Opportunities

Minimally Invasive Surgery Laboratory

All surgery residents will undergo laparoscopic training program. Residents will acquire surgical skills, such as hand-eye coordination, ambidexterity, depth perception and operation of laparoscopic instruments, that are necessary to perform videoendoscopic procedures.

Performance of standardized laparoscopic drills first in an inanimate setting (i.e., dry laboratory trainer) and then practiced in an animate or wet model (i.e., anesthetized pig or fresh organs).

Drills will be evaluated both before (i.e., pre-test) and after (i.e., post-test) 8 hours of dry laboratory training (this is equivalent to two 4-hours practice sessions) and outcomes measured by the speed and accuracy of completing drills, such as bean transfer, two-handed pegboard, rope pass, pattern cutting, hypodermic needle capping, and suturing and knot tying.

USMLE

Each General Surgery Resident will complete two step exams by April of their first year of employment. This Departmental Policy is in compliance with the institutional policy approved by the ADGME and the GME Committee.Department, prior to start of their residency and renew certification every 2 years.

Integrated and Designated Preliminary House Officers will be required to complete all three step exams within the policy established by their core program. They must take their exam during one of their core program elective months if their core program timeline requires completion during their General Surgery assignment.

Categorical General Surgery House Officers must coordinate their exam schedules with the General Surgery Program Coordinator. Available times will be determined by evaluating the number of House residents on service, vacations scheduled during requested month, patient census, etc.