University of Washington General Surgery Residency

Come join us for a VIRTUAL VISIT! We're excited for you to learn more about our program from our residents and faculty.

You can sign-up via the QR code on this post!

We hosted our final VIRTUAL VISIT tonight where we discussed Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Department of Surgery.

Our other VIRTUAL VISITS included: a Program Introduction and Overview, Hospital Site Overview, Research and Professional Development, Wellness Initiatives and the Women’s Council as well as 2 Resident Rounds. All visits besides the Resident Rounds are posted to our YouTube (https://bit.ly/uwgensurgYouTube)!

We hope you were able to learn a bit more about our program and get a sense of our community - we’re extremely proud of both!

A big THANK YOU to all of our panelists, but most importantly THANK YOU to all of the attendees!

University of Washington General Surgery Residency

Come join us for our last VIRTUAL VISIT next Thursday, 10/15 at 5:30pm PST. We’ll be discussing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in our Department, followed by a Q&A. You can sign up via this link: https://bit.ly/gensurgvirtualvisits…

Come join us for our VIRTUAL VISIT this Thursday, 10/8 at 5:30pm PST. You’ll learn about our Wellness initiatives and the Women's Council, followed by a Q&A with residents! If you haven’t signed up for a previous session, you can do so via this link: https://bit.ly/gensurgvirtualvisits…!

Come join us for our VIRTUAL VISIT this Thursday, 10/1 at 5:30pm PST. You’ll learn about our Research Program and Professional Development, followed by a Q&A with residents! If you haven’t signed up for a previous session, you can do so via this link: https://bit.ly/gensurgvirtualvisits!

HAPPY MONDAY and cheers to teamwork! One of our favorite things about our program is the sense of community – amongst residents and attendings!

(Pre-COVID) Here Surg H team members including a medical student, residents, PAC and attending gather for a team HH .

Meet intern Alex, one of our 7-year research residents.

I’m Alex Hernandez, I am originally from Southern California, but I became a northwest transplant when I started at University of Washington as an undergrad. After graduating and spending a few years working at Fred Hutch, I went on to medical school at Oregon Health and Science University for medical school. I am so happy to be back at UW and in Seattle for residency training. When I am not at work, I love to cook, bike, and explore the mountains of the Pacific Northwest.

Pictured: generously treated the UW night float shift to dinner on our first night, a picture of my adventure to Chuckanut drive (an hour north of Seattle!) on my last weekend off and my cat Simon, who provides daily comic relief!

Meet intern Nzuekoh, one of 7-year research residents.

Hello all! I'm Nzuekoh. I was born in Cameroon and grew up southeastern Wisconsin. I fell in love with surgery as a medical student at the University of Chicago. I'm excited to be at UW to train. The breadth and depth of operative and clinical experiences here is incredible. I have received such intentional mentorship from the faculty and senior residents, all of whom I enjoy working with and feel inspired by. And I lucked out with the best cohort of co-interns. I entered the 7-year research track with early interest in surgical oncology, global health and outcomes research, but I'm keeping an open mind as I look toward future fellowship. I enjoy being outside, and the PNW is a gorgeous place to do so. I'm looking forward to exploring more running routes and hiking trails while here.

On June 6th, an estimated 10,000 healthcare workers from hospitals throughout Seattle gathered at Harborview Medical Center to show support for Black Lives Matter and protest systemic racism. Organized by Surgery A attending (and UW graduate ‘18) Dr. Estell Williams and her husband Edwin Lindo, JD (also School of Medicine faculty), this march was attended by numerous members of our department, from medical students to the department chair.

Department of Surgery Residents Drs. Kajal Mehta (General Surgery) and Benjamin Massenburg (Plastic Surgery) have been selected for ACS - RAS (Residents and Associates Society) Global Surgery work group leadership positions.

Dr. Mehta has been elected to the position of secretary which advances to Vice-Chair in 2021-2022 and then to Chair.

Dr. Massenburg has been elected to be the Subspecialty Engagement Lead.

Congratulations to you both!

[Life outside of the hospital: Skiing] Rain in the city means snow in the mountains! With resorts as close as 45 minutes from downtown (Summit at Snoqualmie), 2 hours away (Crystal Mountain and Stevens Pass), and 3 hours away (Mt. Baker Ski Resort), Seattle has some of the best access to skiing in the United States. For those inclined to leave the resort, there are a multitude of backcountry skiing and snowshoeing destinations within easy reach as well.

Come join us for our fourth VIRTUAL VISIT this Thursday (9/3)! Our Associate Program Directors will be giving an overview about each site followed by a Q&A with residents! If you haven't signed up for a previous session, you can do so via this link: https://bit.ly/gensurgvirtualvisits

Meet intern Divya, one of our 7-year research residents.

Hi everyone! After a lovely graduation at home in California, I moved up to Washington. Residency has been awesome so far - my first rotation was pediatric surgery and I got to spend a ton of time in the OR learning from incredible attendings. I’ve also had fun building my skills on our robotic simulator (pictured here). Some of my favorite things to do have been hiking (got to get up close to beautiful Mt. Rainier this past weekend), walking around Seattle’s numerous lakes with my sister and our dog, baking, and hanging out with my co-residents!

Some would say the R5 class had an unfair advantage when it came to the Robot Olympics, but if last years' interns have anything to do with it, they'll be the team to beat this year! Dr. Jim Park and several resident leaders have worked tirelessly to ensure that UW residents get superb training in robotic-assisted surgery. We get experience at the bedside and the console during procedures, and have 24/7 access to simulators - helpful during the highly contested Robot Olympics, where resident classes compete for high scores in simulation modules.

Chief Residents are given the autonomy to take interns and junior residents through cases. These opportunities provide both excellent opportunities for the senior level residents to teach other residents and for junior residents to gain valuable operative skills early in their training. Here, Chief Resident Kevin Sullivan takes intern Max Adcox through his first laparotomy.

Learn more about our program from our residents at our 3rd VIRTUAL VISIT this Thurs, Aug 27 at 5:30 pm PST! Join us for "Resident Rounds", an informal Q&A session led by our residents! Sign up here (no need to sign up if you already have!) https://bit.ly/gensurgvirtualvisits

Meet intern Annie, one of our 5-year categorical residents!

“I am from Taiwan but grew up in Hawaii. I’m a lifetime Husky, got both my undergraduate and medical degree right here at UW. I am constantly in awe of this wonderful community and the deeply supportive culture our department has established. The outgoing R2, Nina, wrote me the most wonderfully comprehensive guide for my first day ever, complete with a “you got this” post-it. My chief, Kevin, took us out to celebrate the last day of my first rotation. Even on the insanely busy Harborview trauma/thoracic rotation, I still got plenty of OR time. The other day, I put on my big girl pants and did an open thoracotomy and decortication with the attending. Most importantly, even with so much going on, I am still able to find time to catch up with my med school besties, hike the wondering PNW, and spend time with my family and dog. I am so glad I get to spend the next 5 years here.”

Long overdue UW women in surgery virtual hangout! So good to catch up and see old and new faces 😊

From ski days and classy holiday parties to drinks after work and (recently) Zoom happy hours, the PGY-2 class knows how to have a good time! Hailing from all over the globe, they have a wide variety of clinical and research interests. We can’t wait to see what they accomplish as they continue to learn, laugh, and provide top-notch baked goods to the UW Surgery family.

From being the R2 (left, ) and MS4 (right, ) in the trauma ICU, 2 years later we’re operating together as the R4 and R2 on Surg B - still smiling! 😊

Meet intern Hannah, one of our 7-year research residents. “I am from New England and went to medical school at Stanford. I came to UW because of the volume and acuity of trauma as well as the population served at Harborview, and the department's strengths in global surgery. I am also grateful for the proximity of wilderness to Seattle. With respect to my interests, I am fascinated by remote environments and nomadic societies, and deeply upset by the impact of war on noncombatants. I plan to pursue training in trauma surgery and devote my career to improving humanitarian care in conflict with a focus on austere settings.”

Just another day at the office!

Harborview Medical Center is the only Level 1 trauma center in the state of Washington and is THE trauma and burn referral center for the region. Consequently, the Harborview experience is defined by a heavy case volume of operative trauma and emergency general surgery.

Even for residents who don’t choose to specialize in Trauma, Burns, and/or Critical Care, the opportunity to train in a high acuity setting managing complex and severely injured patients is essential for becoming a confident surgeon capable of making high consequence decisions in the care of sick patients.

[Pictured: a typical early morning view of Mt. Rainier from the HMC parking garage and helipad]

Join NURF and the GME office for a virtual diversity recruitment event on Wednesday, August 26 at 6:30pm PST. Please register: https://catalyst.uw.edu/webq/survey/ncorona/394191

[Life outside of the hospital: climbing mountains] Washington State is home to a breathtaking array of hiking, backpacking, rock climbing, and technical mountaineering objectives. With the iconic Pacific Northwest volcanos (Rainier, Adams, Baker, Galcier, and St. Helens), the Olympic Mountains and the North Cascades (known as the American Alps) all within a 4 hour drive from Seattle, our residents find that 5 to 7 years is just enough time to scratch the surface.

Please join us for “Resident Rounds”, our second VIRTUAL VISIT this Thursday, August 13 at 5:30pm PST (8:30pm EST). Current residents will be leading a Q&A, answering questions you have! Please see the link in our bio if you haven’t signed up for a session yet! We look forward to seeing you then!

Meet intern Cody, one of our 5-year categorical residents. “What brought me to UW? All the amazing co-residents, supportive faculty, and the rain (obviously 😆). I can’t stress enough how lucky I feel for the opportunity to be here and work alongside such amazing people. I just finished Team H aka Hepatobiliary. Did I love it? Heck yes! It has it all... Robotic Whipple? No problem. Klatskin tumor? Consider it respectable. Team H was an incredible month with incredible people. I gained confidence in managing patients on the floor and developed surgical skills in the OR, even as an intern.”

After 13 miles of heated debate, we finally agreed that ex laps and free flaps are equally awesome surgeries. (General Surgery R2 Lindsey Dickerson, Plastic Surgery R2 Christina Beck and Plastic Surgery Chief Resident Grace Um escaping the city and enjoying all that the PNW has to offer! “Ascending 14k feet above sea level, Mt. Rainier stands as an icon in the Washington landscape. An active volcano, it is the most glaciated peak in the contiguous USA.”)

If you were unable to join us last night for our first VIRTUAL VISIT, we've uploaded it to our YouTube channel! Take a look to learn a bit more about our program!

University of Washington General Surgery Residency

ON WEDNESDAYS WE PRACTICE OUR SKILLS. Pictured are some of our new interns practicing knot thing and suturing at SurgSci, our weekly educational conference series. Our junior and senior residents meet in groups every other week for a presentation based on SCORE curriculum. Following this, the juniors head to the WISH (WWAMI Institute for Simulation in Healthcare) lab to practice various skills while the seniors work to prepare for their boards or head to the WISH lab to hone their skills.

Meet intern Daniela, one of our 5-year categorical residents. “I’m Daniela! I grew up in Venezuela and moved to the US to pursue my dream of becoming a doctor. These pictures show the moment when that dream came true. I had an early ~homey~ graduation in April and then promptly started working in NYC at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic before starting my residency at UW! What brought me to UW was the amazing culture between residents and the incredible experience of being the only Level 1 trauma center in the WWAMI region.”