General Surgery Residency Announces Clinical Collaboration with Intermountain Health

Starting in May, Stanford’s General Surgery Residency Program will include a new elective surgical endoscopy rotation with Intermountain Healthcare (IMH).

“This training rotation will allow Stanford residents to gain the endoscopy skills they need in an integrated healthcare delivery system and bring what they learn back to Stanford and to their future practice,” said Dr. Mark Ott, chief medical director at IMH.

Stanford General Surgery Residency Program Director Dr. Marc Melcher says one of the catalysts for adding the elective rotation is the increasing number of endoscopy case requirements over the past few years.

“Currently, our residents get the bulk of their cases at the Livermore VA outpatient facility. This has been an excellent experience, and [the residents] work with Stanford Gastrointestinal doctors,” said Melcher. “The Utah opportunity is a little different. It’s a full-time, surgery-run endoscopy service. So, the residents will have the opportunity to see patients from the beginning to the end of their treatment.”

The 3- to 4-week rotation will be offered to General Surgery Residents in the third postgraduate year of clinical training. Dr. Josh Jaramillo (PGY3) will be the first resident to participate.

“Endoscopic procedures will be an important part of my service as a general surgeon in the Air Force after residency,” said Jaramillo. “The IMH rotation sounded like a great opportunity to build on the experiences I have gained at Stanford to develop greater proficiency during residency.”

IMH is a Utah-based system of 23 hospitals and 170 clinics including Intermountain Medical Center, where the rotation will mainly take place. The medical center is a Level 1 trauma center with more than 500 beds and serves the Salt Lake Metro Area as well as patients from greater Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, and Nevada.

“The Stanford General Surgery Residency Program trains doctors to become the leaders and surgeons of the future,” said Ott. “Part of the surgical future is exposing all of us to a world where different healthcare systems collaborate to deliver even better care locally and at a distance.”