What to Expect as a General Surgery Resident

Surgical Oncology / Breast / Endocrine Surgery

Drs. Orr, Nguyen and Hird. Inpatient experience focuses on lung, esophageal, hepatic and pancreatic neoplasms as well as management of complicated pancreatitis. Minimally invasive techniques are commonly used. Outpatient experience focuses on both benign and malignant breast disease and the management of endocrine neoplasms and melanoma.

Trauma/Acute Care Surgery & Surgical ICU

Drs. Currence, Delmas, Harp, Hird, Lombardozzi, Mentzer, Mount, Morrow and Thurston. All patients admitted for trauma and the majority admitted through the ED with non-traumatic surgical emergencies are managed by this service which also covers the critical care unit (predominately through the PGY2 or 3 resident). Spartanburg Medical Center is a Level I Trauma Center with over 2,400 trauma admissions each year. Our acute care surgery admissions range from 250-300 cases each month. There are various additional teaching conferences while the resident is on the Critical Care service based on the Surgical Critical Care fellowship teaching schedule. The service also covers urgent and elective general surgery via the ACS clinic. This is our busiest service, and three NPs work closely with the team to facilitate optimal patient management. 

Vascular Surgery

Drs. Calton and Clark. This service covers a broad range of vascular procedures, including standard open operations, endovascular procedures and a busy noninvasive vascular lab. 

Private General Surgery

Drs. James, Reinhardt, Woollen and Srinivasan. The general surgery service enables the residents to experience a “private practice” model. Residents participate in a wide variety of general surgery and endoscopic procedures throughout our facilities, including an outpatient surgery center.

Bariatric Surgery

Dr. Paul Ross. Spartanburg Regional Weight Loss Services has performed in excess of 1000 bariatric operations and is formally credentialed by the American Society Metabolic and for Bariatric Surgery. He performs both bypass and gastric sleeve procedures laparoscopically. 

Vascular Access Surgery

This specialized area of surgery is performed entirely by Drs. Kramer and Flandry, who have pioneered many innovative techniques and are actively involved in resident education.

Pediatric Surgery

A two-month rotation for PGY-3 residents at Prisma Health.

Colorectal Surgery

Drs. Ashley and McGee. A broad experience including endoscopy, anorectal, laparoscopic and robotic procedures. This service continues to expand as our region grows, and Spartanburg Medical Center increasingly is becoming a tertiary referral center.

A formal chain of command policy is given in written form to every resident. Common to most programs in the United States, a junior resident on a team will see new patients first. He/she will evaluate the patient, arrange routine tests and notify a more senior resident. The senior resident, with attending input, coordinates complicated or invasive diagnostic tests. Decisions for operative intervention are made jointly by the senior resident and attending. No patient goes to the operating room without an attending surgeon. The primary goal is always – the best patient care. 

Residents are integrated into the operating room as early as possible. PGY-1 and PGY-2 residents at Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System perform more operations than the national average.

Most conferences are from 7-8 a.m., three days a week. All residents are required to attend all conferences unless involved in life-threatening emergencies. 

Morbidity and mortality conference is held weekly. Cases are presented and discussed in an educational and constructive format with an emphasis on adult learning. 

Grand rounds are held 2-3 times per month. Most are given by Spartanburg Regional faculty, faculty from MUSC, and outside speakers. PGY-4 and PGY-5 residents are encouraged to give one grand round each year. 

A general surgery conference is held weekly. Classic general surgery topics are presented with a discussion guided by the attending faculty. The format is one of interactive learning using the SCORE resident curriculum and the American College of Surgeons Weekly update. 

The skills lab meets weekly for the first-year residents and is protected time. Topics include basics such as knots, suturing, laparoscopic techniques and eventual advancement to the FLS (Fundamental of Laparoscopic Surgery) level. All residents have 24-7 access to the lab. 

Monthly practice mock oral exams are given for senior-level residents 

Monthly General Surgery Journal Club meets to develop skills in reading and understanding literature and research findings. 

An annual GME research day showcases residents’ research. 

Funds and appropriate time off are allocated for residents presenting papers at regional and national conferences. Additionally, the chief residents typically attend the American College of Surgeons annual meeting.