General Surgery Division Education

The Division plays an active role in the education of medical students, residents, and fellows at Stony Brook. We have both general and minimally invasiv surgery and trauma/critical care conferences. Our trauma attendings, who are certified instructors through the Committee on Trauma for the American College of Surgery, teach the Advance Trauma Life Support Course at Stony Brook for all entering surgical house-officers. We also teach in the general surgery residency curriculim and in the Surgical Skills Center.

The weekly trauma and critical care conference offers continuing medical education (CME) to university and community physicians alike. Topics cover the full range of concerns related to the trauma/critical care environment, including thoracic injuries, ICU administration/billing, and case histories. Presentations are made by attending physicians, as well as other medical professionals.

The general surgery conference, which includes a journal club, covers a broad variety of topics related to gastrointestinal, minimally invasive, and bariatric surgery. All levels of team members are welcome to participate.

Resident Rotations

The Division provides general surgery residents with a wide range of experience on the following three rotations (click on them for detailed information):

The Division is very actively involved in education of medical students at Stony Brook, in addition to students globally who spend time to learn the art of surgery. Scheduled conferences, including the weekly rotation conferences, are provided to enhance the experience of these future physicians.

Surgical Selective

For fourth-year medical students, the selective course enables them to refine their understanding of surgery as well as trauma management. For the trauma selective, areas of focus include initial assessment and resuscitation, diagnostic workup, and management options. It is obvious that in the short time on this selective, students will not master these areas. It is expected, however that they become familiar with the process of trauma evaluation and treatment to be able to know when such processes need to be implemented.

Fellowship Training

We offer advanced training in minimally invasive and bariatric surgery to one junior faculty/fellow per year. This position includes a research focus on relevant topics, as well.

In addition, the Division offers an accredited one-year surgical critical care residency (fellowship). This residency is directed by our distinguished traumatologist and critical care specialist, Marc J. Shapiro, MD. Clinical responsibilities emphasize the management of the multiply-injured and critically ill patient. In addition, the resident is expected to participate in basic or clinical research.