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Also in this section:
 Residency Program
Advanced Laparoscopic Fellowship
Post-Graduate Courses
Surgical Training & Education
Residency Program
 Information About MGH
Information About MGH Dept of Surgery
Information About the Surgical Residency Program
Surgical Training Application Instructions
Benefits
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Information About Massachusetts General Hospital
The Massachusetts General Hospital, a private, voluntary institution, was chartered by The Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1811. The original structure, the Bulfinch building, was financed by public subscription, and the hospital's first patient was admitted in 1821. Its central domed operating amphitheater, in which the first public demonstration of a surgical procedure carried out under ether anesthesia took place in 1846, is maintained as a small museum, and the building's original architectural features are largely unaltered.
At its inception, the missions of the hospital were described as the care of the sick and the education of those who provide this care. From the beginning, recent medical school graduates have been appointed to the staff annually, first as house pupils, then house officers and now as residents and fellows. The hospital offers residencies and fellowships in all the disciplines and subspecialties of medicine. It also serves as the major teaching hospital for Harvard Medical School and all staff members and residents have joint appointments at Harvard.
The central hospital complex includes four interconnected towers that contain the clinical units. There are presently a total of 907 beds. The general surgical service includes separate floors for general surgery, cardiac surgery, thoracic surgery, vascular surgery, plastic surgery, pediatric surgery, adult burns and transplantation. The pediatric burn service is located in the Shriners Burn Institute, adjacent to the hospital buildings. There are 42 inpatient and 10 outpatient operating rooms, a total of 52. The outpatient building also includes the surgical clinics and offices of the attending surgical staff. In 2007, there were 36,084 operations and 76,867 emergency department visits. Ambulatory care was provided to 733,124 patients.
Modern additions to the hospital include the Wang Ambulatory Care Center (1981), the Wellman Research Building (1984), the Ellison (1991) and Blake (1994) Towers, and the Yawkey Center for Outpatient Care (2004). The inpatient towers, along with the modernization of patient units in the White and Bigelow buildings have made possible the upgrading of all inpatient facilities during the last decade. In addition, the hospital has recently expanded its research facilities to include laboratory space in the nearby Charlestown Navy Yard and the neighboring Charles River Plaza. Included within the Boston campus area are also the Shriners Burns Institute, the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, and the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. The Treadwell Medical Library is located within the central complex.
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Information About MGH Department of Surgery
The Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Surgery is comprised of 11 divisions: general surgery, vascular surgery, trauma and surgical critical care, burns, surgical oncology, transplantation, cardiac surgery, general thoracic surgery, plastic surgery and pediatric surgery. Residents from the general surgery program have assignments to all divisions, providing a breadth of training.
General Surgery: The private general surgery unit includes 16 surgeons with broad practices that include the surgery of the contents of the abdomen and its supporting structures as well as head and neck, breast and endocrine surgery. Several of these surgeons, along with gastroenterologists and radiologists, staff the MGH Liver, Biliary and Pancreas Center and the Center for Innovative Minimally Invasive Therapy. There has been a surgical endoscopy unit at MGH since 1973 and laparoscopic surgery was added in 1990. Areas of research activity include pancreatitis and pancreatic malignancy, regulation of pancreatic blood flow and secretion, protein biochemistry, calcium and parathormone metabolism, and the extension of laparoscopic techniques.
Vascular Surgery: The vascular surgery division has an annual caseload that exceeds 1400 major operations. Associated laboratories are engaged in research in blood vessel and graft compliance, endothelial cell structure and characteristics and laser physics. The Clinical Vascular Laboratory is a divisional responsibility. Special areas of clinical interest include complex aortic surgery and spinal cord protection and small vessel reconstruction. There is a very active endovascular program.
Burns: The burn unit is verified as a Level 1 Adult Burn Center by the American College of Surgeons and the American Burn Association. Attending staff and residents also provide burn care to pediatric patients at neighboring Shriners Hospital for Children. Areas of research include the development of artificial skin, burn and trauma physiology, cell membrane function and the management of respiratory and hand burns.
Trauma and Surgical Critical Care: Massachusetts General Hospital is verified as a Level 1 Adult and Pediatric Trauma Center by the American College of Surgeons. Care of patients in the surgical critical care unit is shared with the anesthesia department. Research is currently focused on ARDS, nitric oxide, nosocomial infections, and outcome prediction and measurements. A fellowship in surgery critical care was initiated in 1995.
Surgical Oncology: The surgical oncology unit is integrated within the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, a multidisciplinary program that also includes medical oncology and radiation therapy. Mass General delivers care to the largest volume of cancer patients of any institution in New England. The unit includes the Comprehensive MGH/Avon Breast Center. Areas of special research include the molecular control of cell division, genetics in breast carcinoma and the mechanisms of metastatic spread of colon cancer.
Transplant: The transplantation unit, a very active clinical service, includes a strong research component with a special commitment to the clinical applications of new advances in immunology. It has clinical transplantation programs for the kidney, pancreas, liver, lung, heart and bone marrow, the last three being shared with the thoracic, cardiac and medical oncology services. Investigation is focused on xenografting, clinical applications of monoclonal antibodies, transplant immunology of tolerance and surgical transplantation techniques.
Cardiac Surgery: The cardiac surgical unit performs about 1,300 adult and pediatric open-heart operations annually. General surgical residents gain extensive exposure to preoperative and postoperative management as well as general intensive care education and operative technique. Areas of special research concentration are allograft vasculopathology, the physiology and metabolism of cardioplegia, right ventricle physiology and blood substitutes.
Thoracic Surgery: The general thoracic service has its foundation in the pioneering works of Drs. Edward D. Churchill and Richard Sweet in the 1930s and early 1940s. The present operative load is about 1,100 major cases annually. Current active areas of research are lung transplantation, the multidisciplinary management of pulmonary malignancy, and the ongoing refinement of tracheal and bronchial surgery.
Plastic Surgery: The plastic surgery service maintains a very active clinical effort that includes all aspects of general plastic surgery but with special concentration in the reconstructive surgery of cancer and burns, replantation, complex free grafts and the surgery of the hand. Areas of special research interest include microsurgery, expanded application of myocutaneous and free tissue grafts, the physiology of scar formation and the development of skin substitutes.
Pediatric Surgery: The pediatric surgical service is quite active clinically and is supported by active obstetric, newborn and general pediatric services. It also functions as a tertiary referral center for trauma and essentially all pediatric diseases. Special research interests include the investigation of hormonal and biologic factors in urogenital anomalies, studies on the etiology of biliary atresia and Hirschprungs disease, the purification and study of Mullerian inhibiting substance as a tumor regressor, intestinal transplantation and ECMO in adult and pediatric respiratory distress syndromes.
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Information About the Residency Program
The mission of the Massachusetts General Hospital surgical residency program is to attract the best possible individuals, and to train them through clinical exposure and through formal and informal conferences to be outstanding clinical surgeons. In addition, the department strongly encourages and supports these residents interested in laboratory science to obtain additional scientific training. All residents who desire time out of the residency for additional laboratory experience are supported in those endeavors by the Mass General Department of Surgery, regardless of whether the research experience is at Mass General or elsewhere. In addition, residents may elect a leave of absence to pursue studies in outcome research, MPH or MBA. It is the goal of the department to provide the residents with the tools to advance the field of surgery and become surgical leaders in their areas of interest.
To accomplish this mission, the department has developed a residency program based on mutual trust and respect between the residents and staff. We feel that surgical residents are mature adults who come to Mass General because of a sincere desire to become excellent surgeons. They are well-motivated and don't require a rigid set of rules. Rather, they are required only to take good care of their patients, carry out their responsibilities with honesty and integrity, and to take responsibility for themselves. We believe this philosophy has resulted in a relaxed atmosphere with excellent esprit de corps.
More than half of the residents elect to take time away from clinical residency, usually two years, for research. The department is extremely supportive of this and will help the resident find an appropriate laboratory for this experience, be it at Mass General or elsewhere. The department has six endowed fellowships for support of resident research and guarantees salary support for any resident during this research experience. With this availability of funds, residents often have opportunities to work in the foremost laboratories in the country. Several residents have completed PhDs during their research experience.
Operative Experience
The breadth and depth of surgical experience in the residency program is extensive. All residents obtain more than adequate experience to meet the requirements of the American Board of Surgery and the experience in complex major cases is particularly strong. Operative experience is progressive and begins in the first year, with advancement in complexity of cases with experience. The average number of major cases done by each resident over the course of the residency is approximately 1,200.
Conferences
While the major thrust of the residency is clinical experience, there are numerous conferences as well. Each service has a weekly morbidity and mortality conference which all residents and staff attend. There are clinical case conferences weekly for Trauma, GI, Surgical Oncology, Thoracic, and Vascular Surgery. Grand Rounds are held on Thursday morning, and a Basic Science Lecture course is held on Saturday morning. The Chief of the Department, Dr. Andrew L. Warshaw, holds weekly conference on Friday afternoons, both for education and communication.
Call Schedules
The call schedule on most rotations is 1/4. All call schedules are designed for the resident's educational experience and the continuity of care of patients, rather than service needs.
Rotations
The surgical residency at the Mass General consists of five clinical years encompassing the broad range of surgery. All residents complete the requirements for certification by the American Board of Surgery. The residency is one of graded responsibility with adequate supervision at all levels. Due to the flexibility of the residency with respect to research experience, there is some flexibility in clinical rotations, but the accompanying table gives a general outline of rotations at various years. It should be noted that almost all of the rotations are at Mass General, which is thought to improve quality control of the educational experience. Rotations to outside hospitals are in place only when they provide a particular experience which is essential to the resident (pediatric surgery, head and neck surgery, community general surgery, etc.)
PGY1
General Surgery
Pediatric Surgery
Burn Surgery
Orthopaedic Surgery
Urology
Neurosurgery
Anesthesia
Transplantation
Community General Surgery
General Thoracic Surgery
PGY2
Surgical Intensive Care/Cardiac Surgery
General Surgery
Emergency Ward/Trauma
Plastic Surgery
Community General Surgery
PGY3
Surgical Intensive Care Unit
General Surgery
Emergency Ward/Trauma
Burn Surgery
Vascular Surgery
Head and Neck
Transplantation
Night Float
PGY4
Community General Surgery
Pediatric Surgery
Vascular Surgery
Cardiac Surgery
General Surgery
PGY5
Trauma Surgery
General Surgery
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Application Instructions
Appointments to the first year of general surgical training are administered under the National Resident Matching Program. Application is made through AAMC Electronic Residency Application Service, ERAS.
Required application materials:
- 500-word personal statement
- Dean's letter
- Curriculum vitae
- Three (3) names of supporting references are required in the application form (communication with them requesting letters of recommendation is the responsibility of the applicant)
Additional application requirements and information (if applicable):
- ECFMG certified at time of application
- Pass scores on USMLE Step 1 and both parts of Step 2 by matched date
- We sponsor J1 visas.
All candidates for positions in the categorical five-year program are required to be present at an interview given at the hospital each year. A schedule of the dates, usually in January, is sent to candidates in early December. Confirmation of the intention to participate in the interview is required. A prior interview is not necessary, but students are welcome to visit the department when convenient to more fully familiarize themselves with the training program and hospital.
Candidates for preliminary positions do not participate in the formal interview process. Selected applicants will be contacted to schedule an individual interview.
Residency Contact Information:
Charles M. Ferguson, MD, Program Director
Surgical Residency Program
Massachusetts General Hospital
55 Fruit Street, GRB-425
Boston, MA 02114
(617) 726-2803
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Benefits
Vacation
Residents are provided with ten (10) days of vacation the first year of residency and one month per year in the subsequent four years. Efforts are made to provide vacations in the month desired. All one-month vacations are taken as a single block to prevent interference with the educational experience of rotations, to provide an adequate block of time off for the resident, and to prevent the necessity of cross-coverage on services.
Insurance
Hospitalization and medical insurance is provided by the hospital, as are disability insurance and malpractice insurance.
Parking
Parking is available to house officers in the hospital's parking garages. A stipend is provided in the salary to cover the cost.
Salary
2008/2009
PGY 1 $52,064
PGY 2 $52,568
PGY 3 $55,089
PGY 4 $57,623
PGY 5 $60,617
PGY 6 $66,000
PGY 7 $69,000
PGY 8 $72,500
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