Professional Development
Dr. Jim Korndorffer and Dr. Arden Morris at the Grant Writing Workshop in November 2023 sponsored by S-SPIRE.
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. Clifford Shecker, Michigan Program
“My visit to the University of Michigan was an invigorating opportunity to share my passion for both my clinical work and research. I received value feedback and gained novel perspectives about career growth and opportunity. I made new friends and collaborators in the process as well.”
Amanda Kirane, PIP (UW)
“It was a great opportunity - I had a very comprehensive experience getting to join their tumor board, their cutaneous clinic, and resident round table. It gave me the opportunity to connect with cancer center leaders and potential collaborators to both understand clinical practices and strategy approaches in having a robust enterprise as a clinician-scientist. It was a highly productive opportunity and I expect strong continued relationships from the PIP exchange”
New Faculty Retreat
The Department's annual New Faculty Retreat brings together faculty from across the division to connect and learn about resources and opportunities. View the agenda and presentations from the 2023 event. Watch a video of the event.
Faculty Networking Events
The Department of Surgery hosts quarterly networking dinners for faculty. Our first event will be in the evening of April 17, 2024. Our guest speaker will be Matt Abrahams, host of the Think Fast, Talk Smart podcast. Look for invitations in your email or contact Mercedes Northen for more information. All participants will receive a copy of Matt's new book "Think Faster, Talk Smarter."
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 Reimburesement for graduate degrees, Stanford shows that it truly believes in the power of learning.