Professional Development
Researchers attend the 2025 NVivo workshop, sponsored by S-SPIRE Center.
Professional development is an important aspect of growth and advancement throughout your surgical career. Professional development can give you new skills clinical, administrative, research, and/or leadership skills.
Our goal is to facilitate your career development by providing you with listings of learning and training opportunities administered by our Department, the School of Medicine, and the University.
Surgeons can also work on their professional development by membership and activity performance through our national surgery and subspeciality surgical societies.
Faculty PD
S-SPIRE Center
The Stanford Surgery Policy Improvement Research and Education (S-SPIRE) Center offers extensive resources to department faculty as well as annual workshops. Learn more:
Office of Faculty Development Professional Development Opportunities
Junior Faculty Exchange Programs
Stanford Surgery participates in two faculty exchange programs. The Pacific Invited Professor Program is a round-robin exchange between Stanford, the University of Washington, UC San Francisco, UC Davis, and Oregon Health State University. The second program is a 1:1 exchange with the University of Michigan. Both programs provide early career faculty an opportunity to establish their reputation nationally. Participants must be nominated by a division or section chief. Nominations are solicited in late spring. For more information about the program, please contact Samrawit Gebregziabher.
Dr. Joe Forrester, Michigan Program
"Participating in the University of Michigan Faculty Exchange Program was a truly enriching professional experience. The visit provided a unique opportunity to step outside of my home institution and immerse myself in a different academic culture, fostering new perspectives on clinical care, research, and education. During my time in Ann Arbor, I had the privilege of engaging with faculty leaders across trauma surgery, critical care, and acute care disciplines. I greatly appreciated the opportunity to better understand the triage capabilities within the U of M system. The exchange also allowed me to share insights from my work at Stanford, particularly in trauma systems and chest wall injury management, while learning from Michigan’s strengths in multidisciplinary collaboration and academic productivity. These reciprocal exchanges reinforced the value of cross-institutional dialogue in shaping the future of academic surgery."
Dr. Micaela Esquivel, PIP (OHSU)
"I had the privilege of traveling to OHSU as part of the Pacific Invited Professorship through the Junior Faculty Exchange Program. This experience allowed me to share my research and clinical interests, while building meaningful relationships and fostering new collaborations. The insights and opportunities gained were invaluable, and I am deeply grateful to Stanford for supporting my professional growth through this program."
New & Junior Faculty Retreat
The Department's semi-annual New & Junior Faculty Retreat brings together faculty from across the division to connect and learn about resources and opportunities.
Faculty Networking Events
The Department of Surgery hosts quarterly networking dinners for faculty. Our latest event featured JD Schramm, author of Communicate With Mastery. Stay tuned for information about upcoming events!
Resident PD
Trainees in each of our department's residency programs have the opportunity to spend time focusing solely on their professional development (PD) after their third clinical year. This time is typically two years for residents studying general and vascular surgery and one year in plastic and reconstructive surgery. An expansion of the traditional “research years,” residents in our programs may choose from several paths that expands their knowledge and advances the fields of surgery and patient care. Past residents have pursued bench work in a wet lab, outcomes fellowships and earning additional degrees.
A bootcamp—operated by S-SPIRE Center—welcomes residents to this unique time in their academic career. Following this four-week intensive course, PD residents attend leadership seminars hosted by Vice Chair of Education Dr. Jim Korndorffer to further the residents’ growth while also keeping them connected with the Stanford community.
Staff PD
Stanford University offers a wide array of opportunities for professional growth. From free access to learning platforms like Coursera to Tuition Reimbursement for graduate degrees, Stanford shows that it truly believes in the power of learning.