Message from the Chairman
The Department of Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine has a long and distinguished history of preparing its graduates to become leaders in academic surgery.
The primary focus of our training program is the trainee. Our residents play the primary role in how the program is managed. There are two administrative chief residents who direct much of the day-to-day management of the program. They are directly supervised by Dr. Mary Klingensmith, who is our full-time program director and is nationally recognized for her contributions to surgical postgraduate education. Dr. Klingensmith is assisted by three associate program directors: Dr. Chris Anderson (Transplant/Hepatobiliary-Pancreatic Surgery), Dr. Alicia Kieninger (Acute and Critical Care Surgery) and Dr. Michael Awad (Minimally Invasive Surgery). In addition to these superb leaders, our department has a standing residency committee — consisting of residents and committed faculty members — that oversees all aspects of the training program. Each resident is paired with a faculty advisor throughout his or her training, providing a structure that offers support and mentoring, both personally and professionally. In addition, there are semi-annual evaluations of the residents as well as of the program itself including each of the various rotations.
Annually, we hold a unique resident retreat during which recommendations are made to the program director and chairman of the Department for constructive changes in the program. In addition to ongoing changes that may be made on a routine basis, this very crucial feedback has resulted in a program that has been a leader in reducing resident work hours, fostering individual and group mentoring, introducing innovative educational approaches and fostering the professional growth of our resident leaders. Our residents, along with our faculty members, are primarily responsible for the selection of new residents joining the program.
In order to provide the best educational opportunities for our trainees, we have a primary focus on superb patient care. Our residents have access to more than 35,000 cases annually at our three teaching hospitals — Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis Children’s Hospital and the John Cochran V.A. Hospital. We are also in the process of developing a community rotation at Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital. Resident involvement in patient care at each of these institutions results in a comprehensive experience in general surgery as well as all of the surgical specialties. Our program has been very proactive in the use of physician extenders and other endeavors that enhance the education of our trainees.
Along with our outstanding clinical program, our trainees have unparalleled research opportunities in the Department of Surgery. Currently, the Department has more than $27 million in peer-reviewed external funding, representing almost 130 grants. Additionally, there is over $2 million in clinical trial funding annually. Our trainees can take advantage of laboratories in the Department of Surgery, which span every division and section in the Department. Recently, our Department has engaged in a major effort that spans each of the divisions in clinical, translational and outcomes research initiatives. We have a number of innovative programs in cost-effective care, best pathway and outcomes research. Our trainees may earn degrees in business administration or public health during their training years. Finally, we have a number of trainees who have emphasized education as their scholarly pursuit and have developed expertise in educational efforts, which should prepare them for leadership roles in surgical education.
The real strength of our department is its people. Our faculty members have enormous strength and represent a truly impressive depth and breadth of research and clinical leadership. Over the last several years, the Department of Surgery faculty has produced presidents of the American Board of Colorectal Surgery, Society for Colorectal Surgery, American Hepato-Pancreatico-Biliary Association, Society of Critical Care Medicine, Society of Surgical Oncology, Society of Vascular Surgery, International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation, American Association of Hand Surgery, American Association of Plastic Surgery, American Association for Thoracic Surgery, Association of Academic Surgery, Society of University Surgeons and Society of Clinical Surgery. These leadership roles result in important contacts for fellowship and academic appointments. Yet a more important distinction, beyond the faculty’s distinguished qualifications, is their uniform enthusiasm in supporting the Department’s central mission, which is education of the future leaders of American surgery. They actively embrace their roles as mentors and role models for our trainees.
In summary, we continuously work to enhance the experience of each of our trainees and to improve the environment in which they train. Over the last year, we have made significant investment in recruitment of faculty, initiation of unique programs and provision of exceptional laboratory and clinical opportunities — all with the focus of enhancing the educational opportunities for the next generation of surgical leaders. We believe we have created an unparalleled environment for training in surgery. We would love to have you join our surgical family.
Timothy J. Eberlein, M.D.
Bixby Professor and Chairman
Department of Surgery