Easton Surgery Residency Curriculum


Surgical Residency Program Curriculum Review

The ACGME requires that all residency programs adhere to the following: “Educational Conferences must be adequate in quality and quantity to provide a review of clinical surgery as well as advances in surgery.” Surgical residents must be permitted to attend scheduled conferences on a regular basis and without interruption. Participation by both residents and teaching staff must be documented.

The following types of conferences must exist within a program:
Participation in the following educational conferences is expected as a faculty member in the department of surgery:

1. Grand Rounds Conference: Residents are expected to present one Grand Rounds topic each academic year. The topic of this presentation is approved by the program director. Conferences are also presented by a division of the department of surgery. This presentation can be made by a member of the division or by a guest speaker for the division. Visiting professors also partake in our Grand Rounds program.

This conference meets the following ACGME Competencies:
1) Patient care
2) Medical knowledge
3) Interpersonal and communication skills
4) Professionalism
5) Systems based practice
6) Practice based learning


2. Basic Science Conference: This monthly surgical conference is designed to review the surgical basic sciences. A teaching faculty member is asked to present one of the 24 lecture series to the resident staff according to the specialty of the particular chapter. This series includes the following topics: wound healing, burns, hemostasis and hematology disorders, oncology, antibiotics and microbial resistance, respiratory physiology, shock and circulatory physiology, genitourinary physiology, surgical nutrition, fluid and electrolytes, surgical endocrinology, metabolic response to trauma, muscle and bone physiology, transplantation, applied surgical anatomy, surgical pathology, GI physiology and anesthesia.

This conference meets the following ACGME Competencies:
1) Patient care
2) Medical knowledge


3. Surgical Textbook Review Conference: This conference is held two times per month. The designated attending’s role is to prepare a written examination consisting of multiple-choice questions, true or false questions and to prepare a mock oral format for the 4^th or 5^th year resident on the topic assigned. The suggested reading and topics for oral examination will be forwarded to the assigned attending one-month prior so that he/she can be prepared for this conference. A pass/fail evaluation with comments will also be forwarded for grading purposes. A book outlining all textbook review examinations and pass/fail evaluations will be kept in the department of surgery.

This conference meets the following ACGME Competencies:
1) Patient care
2) Medical knowledge


4. Journal Club Conference: Journal Club is held every month. The proctor for Journal Club usually alternates between the program director and the associate program director. Usually five to six articles are selected and assigned to residents for presentation under the supervision of the director or associate director. Residents will prepare a written synopsis with a 5-minute presentation on his/her assigned article.

This conference meets the following ACGME Competencies:
1) Patient care
2) Medical knowledge
3) Practice based learning


5. Mortality and Morbidity Conference: This weekly conference consists of patient cases involving complications including mortality and morbidity, as well as interesting cases. The cases are selected by the Chief administrative resident and then presented to the director of surgery for approval. Residents are assigned to present the complication or interesting case. All cases are discussed in an educational format, which is open to all members of the department of surgery. It is the responsibility of the teaching faculty to attend this conference on a regular basis. This is one of the aspects that the ACGME/RRC checks at program inspections.

This conference meets the following ACGME Competencies:
1) Patient care
2) Medical knowledge
3) Interpersonal and communication skills
4) Systems based practice
5) Practice based learning

6. Clinical Ward Rounds: Clinical Ward Rounds are held each Wednesday morning with the attending surgeon covering the ward surgery for that particular month. The Chief administrative resident assigns a topic and case scenarios for review. The attending surgeon is called upon for expertise in the areas discussed as well as evaluation and supervision of the conference.

This conference meets the following ACGME Competencies:
1) Patient care
2) Medical knowledge
3) Systems based practice
4) Practice based learning


7. Teaching Rounds: This weekly meeting is conducted by either the program director, associate program director or director of surgery and includes topics varying from case presentations, medical ethics, office protocols, practice management, risk management and written exam reviews. This conference also includes a bimonthly vascular review as well.

This conference meets the following ACGME Competencies:
1) Patient care
2) Medical knowledge
3) Interpersonal and communication skills
4) Professionalism
5) Systems based practice
6) Practice based learning


8. Critical Care Conference: This monthly review follows a rotating cycle of topics including: anesthesia, hemodynamic monitoring, pulmonary (respatory failure, ARDS, pneumonia, pulmonary mechanics and ventilation), shock, arrhythmias, renal problems in the ICU, fluid/electrolytes/acid base balance, hematology, management of ICU neurosurgery patient, infectious diseases in the ICU and endocrinology in the ICU. The attending physician is asked to present the topic in a lecture setting with audiovisual assistance and handouts are encouraged.

This conference meets the following ACGME Competencies:
1) Patient care
2) Medical knowledge


9. Oral Exam Exercise Conference: This monthly conference is presented by a faculty member in preparation for the American Board of Surgery Oral Boards. Senior residents are quizzed on topics outlined in the curriculum including: trauma, esophagus/diaphragmatic, hernia/stomach, small intestine, colon/rectum, anus/appendix, liver/gall bladder, biliary system, pancreas/spleen, thyroid/parathyroid, adrenal/abdominal wall hernias, pediatric surgery, skin/breast, head, neck and vascular. A final mock exam is held at the end of each academic year.

This conference meets the following ACGME Competencies:
1) Patient care
2) Medical knowledge
3) Interpersonal and communication skills


10. Research Meeting: This monthly conference is to enhance the scholarly activity of the surgical resident staff as well as the attending staff. Faculty are invited to attend this monthly meeting where research design and analysis, as well as IRB approach is reviewed. Also, reviews of ongoing research are presented, as well as, yearly preparation for our Updegrove Research Prize Presentations.

This conference meets the following ACGME Competencies:
1) Practice based learning


11. Evidence Based Surgery Journal Club: The purpose of the journal club in Easton Hospital’s Surgical Residency program is five-fold: (1) to assist residents in learning library search skills to obtain the most relevant articles in answer to well-framed clinical questions; (2) to assist residents in refining their professional presentation skills; (3) to update all attendees on contemporary clinical issues relevant to patient care and to the contemporary practice of surgery; (4) to teach the concepts and principles of evidence-based surgery (EBS), with a focus on evaluating the quality of the published literature under discussion; and (5) to allow for discussion and debate of newly emerging issues and findings in the field of surgery.

This conference meets the following ACGME Competencies:
1) Medical knowledge
2) Practice based learning

12. Additional Conferences: Additional conferences on physician impairment, quality assurance, medico-legal issues, risk management, government regulations, socioeconomics and cost effectiveness and nutrition committee updates are used to enhance our curriculum. Members of our faculty who sit on various hospital committees are asked to present these conferences in conjunction with other hospital personnel.

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