Didactics

The WKHS General Surgery residency program basic science curriculum will follow the ACS SCORE curriculum for clinical content areas (referred to as “SCORE Clinical Conference”). The curriculum will be divided along organ system and surgical specialty. The didactic conference series will focus on “disease and conditions”. Junior level residents (PGY1 & 2) will be expected to review and be ready to discuss “core” level content. Senior level residents will be expected to review and discuss both the “core” content as well as the “advanced” topics. Conference will be small group based, where the faculty moderator will be prepared to lead and focus discussion, while residents will be expected to have reviewed the topic areas prior to conference and be ready to participate in discussion. Following conference, the residents will be assigned specific questions from the SCORE question bank in order to assess content knowledge. Residents are expected to use the SCORE operative sections in their daily preparation for assigned surgical cases.

Didactic Program Description

Grand Rounds: The purpose is to present clinical problems, updates on new and innovative developments in research and technology and address other related issues that our current and future surgeons face. Grand Rounds are an essential component of medical education, teaching new information and enhancing clinical reasoning skills. (Monthly)

Mortality and Morbidity: The purpose is to conduct an in-depth review of the care of individual surgical patients who have suffered from complications or mortality. This non-punitive conference will be a collaborative effort between the resident and the patient's attending surgeon. Residents are required to present the pertinent aspects of the patient's care, review the literature regarding the complication (including current evidence-based practices), comment on how this case is similar/dissimilar to the literature reviewed, and include a summary of key learning points. Special emphasis will be given on the actual process of reviewing surgical complications to develop a habit of self-review, literature-review, and transparency in discussing "the good, the bad, and the ugly" of the surgical discipline. The conference will also focus on quality improvement and surgical education. Residents will be asked to evaluate complications not only in the context of the individual patient but also regarding a systems-based approach to improving quality of care. The discussion will be centered not only on how to recognize and prevent the specific complication, but how communication and cognitive errors occur in general and how to avoid common pitfalls inherent to complex systems. Attending surgeons will be an integral part of this conference and by sharing their prior experiences and failures, the surgical residents will gain an understanding of how to identify, correct, and communicate human error in the application of modern medicine. (Weekly)

Basic Science/Clinical Conferences: The WKHS General Surgery residency program basic science curriculum will follow the ACS SCORE curriculum for clinical content areas (referred to as “SCORE Clinical Conference”). The curriculum will be divided along organ system and surgical specialty. The didactic conference series will focus on “disease and conditions”. Junior level residents (PGY1 & 2) will be expected to review and be ready to discuss “core” level content. Senior level residents will be expected to review and discuss both the “core” content as well as the “advanced” topics. Conference will be small group based, where the faculty moderator will be prepared to lead and focus discussion, while residents will be expected to have reviewed the topic areas prior to conference and be ready to participate in discussion. Following conference, the residents will be assigned specific questions from the SCORE question bank to assess content knowledge. Residents are expected to use the SCORE operative sections in their daily preparation for assigned surgical cases. Whenever pertinent, the clinical and basic science courses will include current and emerging therapies, procedures, and theories as part of the subject matter discussion. (Weekly)

Journal Club: The purpose of Journal Club is to train residents in the process of applying the principles of evidence-based medicine (EBM). Journal Clubs are designed to help residents and staff, identify pertinent information addressed by the article, and put them in context, discuss the scientific validity of the findings, and consider how the findings apply to practice, policy, education, or research. (Monthly)

Simulation Training: The surgical skills curriculum is based on the ACS/APDS surgery residency skills curriculum and includes three phases. Phase 1 includes 16 modules that address basic surgical skills. Phase 2 includes 15 modules that address advanced skills and procedures, and Phase 3 includes 10 modules that address team-based skills. This conference is designed to enable residents to be familiar with proper surgical technique prior to application in the operating room. The simulation training begins with an intern "boot camp" at orientation and continues longitudinally throughout the residency. Sessions are divided into specific modules each led by a faculty advisor. Each skills training module lasts approximately 60-120 minutes and consist of brief didactics followed by practical sessions with immediate feedback and proficiency verification. (Monthly)

Didactics Block Schedule

Click the image below to see a schedule of the weekly didactics structure.