General Surgery Residency Education Schedule

Education Schedule

CC = Core Curriculum, M&M = M&M conference, TM&M = Trauma M&M, TB = Tumor Board, PAR = PA-Resident Meeting, JC = Journal Club, RC = Research Collaborative, GR= Sinai Grand Rounds, QI = Quality Improvement, MO = Mock Orals, RO = Robotics Curriculum, PH = Professor Hours

Additional Education:

• Journal Club - Dates and Times Varying
• Research Collaborative - First Fridays of the Month, 8-9am
• Mock Orals - Third Thursday of the Month, 7:30-9:30am
• Robotics Curriculum – Fourth Friday of the Month, 4-5pm
• Professor Hours – Dates and Times Vary

Surgery M&M – Every Tuesday at 7 a.m.

The chief resident of each service is expected to report all cases with morbidity and/or mortality before noon on Friday before the M&M conference. Faculty may add cases of interest. The administrative chief resident is responsible to check the final list in advance and assign individual cases for presentation to the senior residents rotating at Sinai. The residents should review the patient’s medical record and abstract significant information for presentation. The first Tuesday of the month focuses exclusively on Trauma. This conference serves to promote the discussion of adverse events in a peer-reviewed, nonjudgmental arena while focusing on performance improvement.

Quality Improvement – First Tuesday at 8 a.m.

All residents are involved in a quality improvement project throughout their residency. Multi-disciplinary teams are formed and meet bi-monthly to provide status reports. Our surgical quality nurse coordinator and dedicated statistician are available to assist with all projects. Upon completion, the projects are presented at our internal quality improvement competition in May, hosted by the department of Medical Education.

Core Curriculum – Every Tuesday at 8 or 9 a.m.

Residents are assigned lectures on General Surgery topics, following the national SCORE curriculum. Faculty attend the lecture to facilitate discussion and elaborate on topics the residents may have questions about.

Simulation Lab – Second Tuesday at 9 a.m.

All residents attend simulation labs on the second Tuesday of the month and our interns have additional simulation lab time on the first Friday of the month. The intern labs focus on management of floor emergencies, performing consults, and basic surgical skills such as suturing and knot tying. The all-resident sims rotate between interdisciplinary trauma simulation, vascular lab, and laparoscopic skills.

Sinai Surgery Grand Rounds – Third Tuesday at 8 a.m.

Started in 2019, our in-house surgery grand rounds occur every third Tuesday of the month. Designed to showcase our in-house expertise, leaders from a variety of specialties give lectures on cutting-edge topics. Additionally, alumni will return to share their knowledge and our value-added year residents present annually.

Tumor Board – Fourth Tuesday at 8 a.m.

This multidisciplinary conference involves surgical oncology, medical oncology, radiation oncology, radiology and GI. The chief resident on the Red service will be contacted by the surgical oncology department during the prior week to assign cases that need to be presented. He/she will assign the cases to the Red service residents. The presenting resident is expected to prepare the patient’s key facts in a brief PowerPoint presentation. For interesting cases/topics, the resident should review the most current literature and may add results from interesting studies to the PowerPoint. The overall presentation should be kept to less than 10 minutes. Other faculty may assign cases.

Professor Hours – Second Friday at varying times

This case-based discussion focuses on pathophysiology, surgical technique, and potential complications. Using current patient scenarios, the faculty will lead the residents in a deep dive through surgical thought process.

Oral Boards Preparation – Third Friday at 3p.m.

Due to the national trend of decreasing oral boards pass rates, we have developed a course to address the stylistic points of the exam. The senior residents (PGY 3-5) are provided the general topics in advance in order to prepare. The public mock exams that occur monthly are videotaped for individual review and analysis. In addition, audience feedback is provided anonymously to each resident. This course is multi-institutional and attended by residents throughout Baltimore.

Robotics Training Curriculum – Fourth Friday at 4 p.m.

A robotics training curriculum has been developed to teach general surgery residents the theory and practice of robotic surgery. This formalized, structured curriculum will take residents from the basics of robotic set-up, through becoming a competent bedside assist, to being an independent console surgeon capable of becoming credentialed upon completion of residency.

Research Collaborative – First Friday at 8 a.m.

The research collaborative is open to all residents, as well as attendings and PAs/NPs involved in ongoing research. It serves to teach the residents the basics of study design, how to navigate the IRB and how to apply for funding. A dedicated statistician attends all meetings to assist with study design and results.

Johns Hopkins Grand Rounds – Every Thursday at 7:30 a.m.

This conference features a variety of national and international experts who discuss the latest advances in their fields. It is streamed live from Johns Hopkins Hospital and is accessible to our residents via Zoom.

Additional Technical Education

In order to provide our residents with the most comprehensive surgical education possible, we have established several dry labs and wet labs to enhance technical skills.

Outpatient Involvement / Continuity of Care

The ACGME requires at least one outpatient day per week and maximization of continuity of care; to achieve this, the residents are expected to attend Trauma Clinic on Monday afternoons as well as one half-day per week of clinic for any of their service attendings. The clinic assignments are made and attendance is tracked by the administrative chief resident.

Technical Skills Lab

The technical skills lab at Johns Hopkins Hospital affords junior residents the opportunity to get hands-on experience operating on live tissue. Both open and laparoscopic techniques are employed and teach the residents vascular anastomoses, bowel anastomoses, operative trauma and more. Residents attend these labs four to six times per year.

High Touch Medicine Course

This two-hour interactive workshop, sponsored by the GME office, focuses on improving patient outcomes and work-life balance

Ongoing Curriculum Development

While the outlined curriculum reflects our core educational activities, we understand that any curriculum is a dynamic construct. Based on the actual needs of the residents, new developments in the field of health professions education and the input from regulating agencies, our curriculum undergoes ongoing re-evaluation for effectiveness and is revised accordingly. Creation of a PGY-2 vascular rotation as well as development of a robotic simulation curriculum are examples of curricular adaptations that resulted from our commitment to continued improvement. At the present time the program is developing a longitudinal course focused on emotional intelligence and leadership.