UTMB Health Department of Surgery Homepage Banner

General Surgery Residency

General Surgery Residency On-Line Handbook

Vacations

Vacations are to be arranged with the Resident/Fellow’s program office. Sufficient amount of time must be given by the Resident/Fellow of notification of leave. Advance notification guidelines will be determined by the Program Director. The amount of vacation allowed at any one time will be the decision of the Program Director. Any changes to the vacation schedule require written approval from the Program Director. General policies and procedures related to Residents/Fellows’ vacations are the same as for other UTMB employees and can be found in the UTMB Institutional Handbook of Operating Procedures, available online at https://www.utmb.edu/policies_and_procedures/Home/TOC. Residents/Fellows will be granted vacation in accordance with institutional policies, and are encouraged to use vacation during the fiscal year in which it was earned.

Leave cannot be taken during the following times:

  • the last two weeks of December
  • the last week of January (ABSITE)
  • last two weeks of June
  • the month of July
  • during the American College of Surgeons meeting in the Fall
  • on Trauma during biker weekend or Mardi Gras

Vacation requests submitted by the due date designated will be honored if at all possible and as long as adequate service coverage is available. In cases of conflict, priority will be assigned by seniority. Only one person may be off any service at one time.


Services

Scheduled leave for house officers will be allocated to each service in accordance with the UTMB Holiday and Vacation Schedule each year. The allocation will be based on the number of house officers assigned to rotate on the service; that is, if a service has one resident and one intern, the service is obligated to allocate three weeks per year for each resident's FTE portion, and three weeks per year for the intern's FTE portion. No one will be pulled from their assigned service to cover another service for vacation or holiday leave.