Prospective Residents

UCLA Surgical Education
The UCLA Department of Surgery is dedicated to training the surgical leaders of the future. We target the top 10% of academically-minded applicants and bring our residents through a structured educational program that maximizes their opportunities for post-residency training and all career models in surgery.

Program Highlights | Protected Time For Learning | Innovative Teaching Techniques | State-of-the-art Facilities | Breadth of Clinical Experience | Operative Experience | Fellowships and Careers | Program-at-a-Glance

Chairman's Message:

Ronald W. Busuttil, MD PhD Professor and Executive Chairman, Department of Surgery "The UCLA Department of Surgery considers excellence in surgical education to be a central component of our mission. We are dedicated to fostering the advancement of our residents in clinical and creative realms, providing them with the necessary tools to lead the next generation of surgeons." -Ronald W. Busuttil

Program Highlights:

Leadership dedicated to the educational mission

• Ronald W. Busuttil, MD, PhD was appointed chair of the department of surgery in 2004. A recognized world leader in liver transplantation, Dr. Busuttil has made education a cornerstone of his agenda and has inspired a renewed vigor in the teaching and mentoring of residents, students, and young faculty within the department.

• Jonathan R. Hiatt, MD has served as Director of Surgical Education since 2004 and Division Chief of General Surgery since 2005. In his dual role, Dr. Hiatt has established resident education as a top priority in the daily function of the department and has completely revamped the weekly conference schedule. He is dedicated to the recruitment and retention of dynamic faculty members with the passion and skills to teach effectively.

• O. Joe Hines , MD has served as the Residency Director since 2005. Dr. Hines engineered the reorganization of the surgical services for the 2006-7 academic year, with the principal purpose of optimizing the educational experience of the residents. He meets with individual residents on a regular basis to ensure their continued development into capable, independent surgeons.

• Areti Tillou , MD has served as Associate Residency Director since 2005. Dr. Tillou has a Master’s Degree in Education. She is principally responsible for the Core Surgery Program and has implemented significant new educational activities for PG1 and 2 residents.

• A significant grant from industry was received in 2005. This grant has been used to fund educational innovation in the Department, including curricular development and design, educational research, and faculty development.

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O. Joe Hines, MD Program Director, General Surgery "We aspire to recruit the highest caliber trainees and are personally committed to developing each one of them to their maximum potential." -Joe Hines	Jonathan R. Hiatt, MD Director of Surgical Education and Chief, Division of General Surgery "Our curriculum incorporates didactic, clinical, technical, and scientific elements with the goal of giving our trainees access to the full range of surgical career opportunities" -Jonathan R. Hiatt

Protected Time For Learning:

• Each Wednesday morning from 7-10 AM , all residents are relieved of clinical responsibilities to attend departmental teaching conferences.
  
  The first hour consists of a topic presentation by a faculty member. Morbidity and mortality conference occupies the second hour. Residents break up into small groups for level-appropriate teaching modules in the third hour.

• The visiting professor lecture series brings established experts from North America and overseas to infuse our department with new knowledge and ideas.
  
  Upper level residents are invited to dine with the visiting professor during his/her visit and to partake in a small group clinical teaching session.

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Innovative Teaching Techniques:

The Center for Advanced Surgical and Interventional Technology (CASIT) is a UCLA-designated research facility. It includes a patient simulator, integrated operating room suite, laparoscopic training laboratory, and robotic surgery system.

The second and third year resident curriculum involves biweekly training sessions in CASIT, which focus on:

• Principles and application of minimally invasive surgical technology
• Development of proficiency in laparoscopic and robotic surgery
• Team training with the department of anesthesia, using patient simulators to re-create OR emergencies

Learn more about CASIT >>

State-of-the-art Facilities:

Learn more about the new hospital >>

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Breadth of Clinical Experience:

In addition to the flagship Westwood hospital, residents rotate through the Santa-Monica UCLA Hospital, Olive-View Medical Center, the West Los Angeles Veterans Administration Hospital, Kaiser Foundation Hospital (Panorama City), and the USC burns unit. The diversity of these settings and patient populations gives our residents a well-rounded clinical and technical experience.

Read more about rotation sites >>
View current rotation schedules >>

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Operative Experience:

Our residents graduate with an average of 1100 major cases during their training. The volume, breadth, complexity of the operative load is well in excess of the requirements established by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. In addition to common general surgical procedures, the typical resident can expect to complete major pancreatic resections, advanced hepatobiliary procedures including liver resections and multiorgan donor harvests, oncologic procedures for sarcoma and melanoma, open and endovascular operations, operations for blunt and penetrating trauma, thoracic procedures, and the breadth of endocrine procedures. The pediatric experience is unusually rich, as there is no pediatric surgical fellowship at UCLA.

Learn more about our subspecialty services >>

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Fellowships and Careers:

90% of recent graduating residents have gone on to subspecialty training, with more than half entering academic careers. The great majority of chief residents receive their first choice among fellowship programs. The interests of our graduates have encompassed the entire range of general surgery subspecialties.

View post-residency employment info >>

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Program-at-a-Glance

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