The Department of Surgery will holistically review all screened applications in alignment with our program mission. We participate in the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) for the residency application process. All applications and supporting documents will need to be submitted electronically through the ERAS portal. The University of Minnesota accepts J-1 clinical visas in our training programs. The program does not sponsor H-1B or F1 OPT visas. We will only review completed applications. 

The required electronic application documents are as follows:

• Common Application Form
• Curriculum Vitae Report
• Medical School Transcript
• Dean's Letter
• 3 Letters of Recommendation
• Photo (optional)
• United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Transcripts
• ECFMG Status Report (foreign medical graduates only)
• Personal Statement: Please include up to a 100-word paragraph detailing your interest in the University of Minnesota's General Surgery Residency Program. The Program will only consider those applicants with this additional information.

All our PGY-1 categorical positions are filled through the National Resident Matching Program.

• To apply to our General Surgery track the NRMP code is 1334440CO
• To apply to our General Surgery/Rural track the NRMP code is 1334440C1
• To apply to our General Surgery/Preliminary track the NRMP code is 1334440PO
• To apply to our General Surgery/Neurosurgery Preliminary track the NRMP code is 1334440P1

Note applicants should only apply to either the Rural or Academic general surgery track. Applicants who apply to both will be asked to choose one prior to interview invitations. 

We look forward to receiving your application documents electronically. If you have any questions, please email [email protected] or call the Surgical Education Office at 612-626-2590.

In the 2024-2025 recruitment cycle, we will have a total of four interview dates. The first date is reserved for our UMN candidates and invitations will go out soon after applications are made available to our program. We will offer 90 interviews across the other three dates.  

Interview invitations will be released on 10/28/2024. The interview format for those interviewing for the 24-25 cycle will be held 100% virtually.

Our 2024-2025 recruitment interview dates are: 

• October 29 (UMN Candidate Interview Day)
• November 19
• November 26
• December 3

Contact:
Sarah Erickson, JD
General Surgery Program Administrator
[email protected]

The UMN education conference is held weekly on Tuesday mornings.

Beginning at 7am, residents and faculty will participate in the department M&M conference which consists of both formal and informal resident presentations based on weekly case logs. Following M&M, residents and faculty will attend the Department of Surgery’s Grand Rounds presentation.

Our core curriculum lectures occur weekly as a part of our Tuesday morning education conferences from 8:45-9:45 am. This is divided into junior core for PGY1-3 and senior core for PGY4-5. The core lectures follow a 2-year cycle of topics that encompass both basic science and clinical management of surgical diseases. Lecture topics are designed based on the Association of Program Directors in Surgery Curriculum objectives. The purpose of the curriculum is to highlight and reinforce the core concepts required for both the successful practice of surgery and successful board certification. Weekly reading assignments and questions are drawn from the General Surgery Resident Curriculum SCORE curriculum, which is provided to residents free of charge by the department.

To protect this valuable educational time, staff or advanced practice providers are responsible for all critical patient care issues and are listed as the first point of contact for the team.

Residents take a combination of both in house and home call depending on their clinical site and PGY level. Call schedules are created by a predesignated chief and junior resident at every site and then stored electronically using the AMION.com and Qgenda service for easy accessibility. Operators at each site will use this centralized schedule to build their site-specific call schedules. We are fully compliant with required ACGME duty hour regulations and the schedules are consistently re-evaluated to ensure ongoing compliance.  

UMMC East Bank 
Night float system with in house PGY1 and PGY2 with coverage Sunday night - Thursday night. Home call for chief resident and fellows. Weekend call shifts range from 12-24 hours for juniors/interns.

UMMC West Bank
Home call q3 days covered by the three residents (two PGY2 and one PGY4) on the pediatric service.

Regions Hospital
Night float system with in house PGY1 and PGY2 with coverage Sunday night - Thursday night. Home call for chief resident during the week with in house chief 24h coverage Friday and Saturday. Weekend call shifts range from 12-24 hours for juniors/interns.

Methodist Hospital
In house 24 hour call coverage q4 days for PGY3 and PGY4s at site with post call day. 

North Memorial
In house 24 hour call coverage q4 days for PGY1-4 at site with post call day. 

Minneapolis VA 
PGY2 at site will take in house 24 hour call coverage 1-2 times a week with post call day. Other overnight shifts are covered by resident moonlighters. 

Surgical skills training curricula have been developed for residents which include both cognitive and psychomotor objectives. Simulation models include low fidelity and high fidelity systems. Residents are provided with both background reading and procedural videos to enhance the simulation time. Instructors include both junior and senior faculty members from the department. Skill sessions occur in the Simulation Center in the Health Sciences Education Center (HSEC).

Skill Topics

PGY-1

• Orientation
  
  • Asepsis and skin preparation
  • Instrument handling and identification
  • Suturing and Knot tying
• Critical Response 
  
  • Responding to hypoxia/hypotension/glucose and electrolyte abnormalities
  • Responding to cardiac arrhythmias and VAD / pacer skills
  • Critical skills performance simulation
• Surgical airway
• ACS ultrasound course (two sessions)
• Rising PGY-2 Simulation Education
  
  • ACLS Refresher
  • ATLS Refresher
  • Shock and ECMO (2 sessions)
  • Mechanical ventilation
  • Chest tubes and thoracentesis

PGY-2 

• Thoracic surgery simulation
• Bowel anastomosis
• Vascular anastomosis
• Stapled anastomosis
• Family Conference Simulation
• Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS) practice sessions

PGY-4 and PGY-5 

• Fundamentals of Endoscopic Surgery (FES) practice sessions
• Rising PGY-4 Leadership Series
• Mock Orals

The history of the University of Minnesota surgical resident research experience dates back to the early 1900’s. The program was developed to provide an intensive experience for trainees in both basic science and clinical research, thus fostering innovative thought. Further, the program aimed to advance the field of clinical surgery while establishing a foundation for academic surgical leaders of the future. From this program grew a vigorous and well-established surgical graduate research program that has produced over three hundred PhDs from the Department of Surgery at the University of Minnesota.

Dr. Owen Wangensteen, the first Chairman of the Department of Surgery at the University of Minnesota, received the first Ph.D. granted by the Department of Surgery. Subsequently, he developed and enriched the program, which produced a robust engagement of residents who went on to become great leaders throughout the country: over forty-five surgical chairmen, two hundred division directors, and a plethora of full-time professors in academic surgery. This legacy continues today.

Values of Research

As a critical part of academic surgical training, the University of Minnesota continues to be driven to deliver pioneering research. This commitment from the Department allows residents to participate in independent and supervised investigations at an entrance level, with valuable opportunities to participate in scientific discovery and/or clinical innovation. Our residents contribute to academic literature and present at the most prestigious national meetings. This research experience also provides a tremendous opportunity to establish a foundation for a career in academic surgery and to develop fundamental tools and relationships for fellowships in General Surgery.

Every year, we have a robust array of academic opportunities our residents partake in, including working with our surgery faculty on a wide variety of research ventures. General surgery residents are also able to participate in a variety of fellowship programs during this time, including Surgical Critical Care, Hospice and Palliative Medicine, Burn, and QI. 

Program Goals & Objectives

We expect all of our residents to participate in research activities. Most will spend one to two years in a basic science or clinical outcomes laboratory. Depending on circumstances such as numbers of clinical residents, some may complete their training without a designated laboratory experience. In no way does this diminish our mission of training academic surgical leaders. The overall goal of the program includes preparing University of Minnesota Department of Surgery trainees for careers in academic surgery.

How many categorical positions are available?

There are 9 total categorical positions – 8 general surgery and 1 rural categorical position available each year.

Do residents participate in research time?

After their third clinical year, many residents take time away from clinical training to develop academic skills. This is typically either a one-year or two-year period of dedicated research. We offer opportunities for residents to join funded labs and work on projects in basic and translational science or clinical-based research. You can refer to the individual resident biographies to see current research interests and publications of our laboratory residents.

Academic travel is supported for residents during dedicated research years who have their work accepted at national meetings.

What international experience does the Surgery Residency offer?

We encourage residents to seek out international opportunities and are actively developing an international rotation for residents during lab time. Current residents have spent time in Guatemala, Honduras, Uganda, and Rwanda.

What is the vacation policy?

Residents are given three weeks of paid vacation. The year is divided into three 4 month time periods and residents will schedule one week of vacation time during each of these periods.

During the nine day period surrounding Christmas and New Years, all residents will receive an additional 3 consecutive days of holiday vacation.

Additionally, throughout the year there are several Wellness Tuesdays, in which residents are given these specific Tuesday mornings off from clinical duties. This time may be utilized at the discretion of the resident, but has been in the past used to do various important tasks including doctor/dentist appointments, car service needs, or other tasks that require advance planning. Other times, residents will sleep in or get breakfast as a team.

More information regarding our time away policy can be found online in the Resident Policy and Procedure Manual.

When is my first day on rotation?

Orientation will take place mid to late June.

What do I need to do before residency starts?

Detailed information will be provided after match day. You must complete ACLS/BLS prior to starting your internship, however ATLS will be provided to all categorical PGY-1 residents.

When do I get my white coats, pager, rotation schedule, ID, etc.?

You will receive all of these materials at Orientation. Rotation schedules and vacation time will be determined between Match Day and orientation. Your pager will remain with you for the duration of your residency.

Should I get a parking permit?

Parking is provided free of charge to on-service residents at all sites and will be part of each hospital’s individual orientation.

Do most residents rent or buy homes?

Both are viable options for our residents depending on their preferences and needs.

There are many, many options for renting in the Twin Cities, from downtown to uptown to the suburbs, and ranging from houses to high-rises! Popular neighborhoods for rentals include downtown Minneapolis, downtown Saint Paul, North Loop (Minneapolis), Northeast (Minneapolis), Dinkytown (Campus area in Minneapolis) or Uptown (Minneapolis). Average monthly rent for a 1-bedroom apartment ranges from around $1000-1500 depending on amenities and location. More information on the cost of living in Minnesota can be found at this link.

Many residents choose to buy homes within their first two years. There is a fairly even split between those who own homes versus condos, and between those who live in Minneapolis / Saint Paul proper versus the nearby suburbs.

Additional Resources:
Apartments.com
Trulia
Zillow
ApartmentList.com

Stipends
Trainees are paid an annual stipend as stated in the Residency/Fellowship Agreement and in the program's Policy Manual. Trainees receive their stipend via a biweekly paycheck.

Benefits 
Benefits for medical residents and fellows are managed through the UMN Office of Student Health Benefits. View the OSHB Resident/Fellow Benefits site for comprehensive information about the resident/fellow benefit package, including medical, dental, disability, and life insurance.

Additional Departmental Perks
●    Lab Coats
●    Pagers
●    On-Site Parking at all hospitals/clinical sites
●    Hospital meal stipends
●    SCORE subscription
●    Loupes before PGY-2 year
●    Travel stipend during research years
●    ACS Resident membership
●    Advanced Trauma Life Support course
●    Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery certification
●    Fundamentals of Endoscopic Surgery certification
●    Provided housing for Essentia Health PGY2 elective
 

Take a look at our former General Surgery residents!

Preview our General Surgery Alumni