Residency Programs
Graduates of the Department of Surgery's Residency Programs can be found throughout the country in advanced training programs, as faculty in other prestigious programs, or as private practitioners.
Clinical training in the Department is conducted in all the major surgical subspecialties.
General Surgery
The General Surgery Residency Program offers seven categorical positions with two categorical tracks (5+2 or SASS) and two preliminary tracks (PGY1 & 2). Applicants can apply to one or both tracks. The program utilizes the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS). The application deadline is October 1.
Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery
The Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Residency Program has three (3) positions available each year at the PGY-1 level. The program utilizes the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS). The application deadline is October 1.
Vascular Surgery
In post-graduate medical education, Stanford is recognized as an elite vascular training program, offering both ACGME-accredited integrated (0 + 5) and independent (5 + 2) training formats. The program finishes three graduates per year. The application deadline is November 1.
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Training Sites
500p - New Stanford Hospital
The new Stanford Hospital opened November 17, 2019. The 824,000-square-foot, seven-story medical building features 368 private patient rooms and 28 state-of-the-art operating rooms. It is the only Level 1 trauma center between San Francisco and San Jose.
Kaiser Santa Clara
The Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara Medical Center serves more than 400,000 members in the Santa Clara service area.
Lucile Packard Children's Hospital (LPCH)
Lucile Packard Childen's Hospital is located adjacent to the Stanford Hopsital in Palo Alto. With the opening of the new building in December 2017, the hospital gained an additional 149 patient beds and has a total of 13 operating rooms, more than any other children’s hospital in Northern California. As of 2021, LPCH has placed nationally in all 10 ranked pediatric specialties on U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals survey and placed in the top 10 on the national honor roll list.
VA Palo Alto
The Veterans Affairs Hospital in Palo Alto operates nearly 900 beds, including three nursing homes and a 100-bed homeless domiciliary serving more than 85,000 enrolled veterans.
Professional Development
Surgical residents in the standard 5+2 track (General and Vascular Surgery) or 6+1 track (PRS) spend two years focusing on their professional development (PD) after their third clinical year. An expansion of the traditional “research years,” residents at Stanford Surgery may choose from several paths that expand their knowledge and advances their career. From bench work in a wet lab to outcomes fellowships to earning additional degrees, only your imagination is the limit.
Stanford Surgery Communication Coaching Program
Research has shown that having a coach improves the rapport with the patient, leading to superior patient experience and translating to overall better patient care. That's why residents participate in our Communications Coaching Program throughout their Stanford careers. The program currently includes general surgery categoricals as well as plastic and vascular junior residents. Communication coaches are carefully picked and undergo year-round training with monthly faculty development workshops.
The Department of Pediatrics Residency Program started their coaching program in 2013, eliciting promising results. Together with Neurology, Surgery was the first to bring the residents’ coaching program to SHC. The Relationship-Centered Care framework is considered the gold standard framework.
Every resident has 5-8 coaching sessions per academic year. Each coaching session involves direct observation of the resident-patient interaction by the coach in a point of care clinical setting (in-patient, out-patient, perioperative, etc.), followed by a debrief during which the coach facilitates the resident’s self-reflection on his or her communication performance, provides targeted feedback, and guides the resident to identify a communication-related goal to be practiced before the next coaching session. The aim of coaching is to support each resident in reaching his or her individual communication goals as well as fostering career development and personal growth.
Dr. Aussama Nassar
Communication Coaching Program Director
Dr. James Korndorffer Jr.
Communication Coaching Program Asst. Director
Communication Coaches
It is incredibly rewarding to see residents achieve their goals and develop professionally into well-rounded surgeons. So much of the focus of surgical training is understandably on acquisition of technical skills, so the coaching program provides a unique opportunity and protected time to refine those non-technical communication skills that truly make an excellent surgeon."
-Dr. Lisa Knowlton
Outcomes Research
Outcomes related to implementation of the Stanford Neurology and Surgery Communication Coaching Programs are being studied in collaboration with Dr. Marzena Sasnal and Dr. Arden Morris of the Stanford-Surgery Policy Improvement Research & Education Center (S-SPIRE).
- Sasnal, M., Miller-Kuhlmann, R., Merrell, S.B. et al. Feasibility and acceptability of virtually coaching residents on communication skills: a pilot study. BMC Med Educ 21, 513 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-021-02936-w
Contact Information
For questions regarding the Department of Surgery's Communication Coaching Program, please contact Coaching Program Manager Catherine Tai.
Nassar, Resident Coaching Program Receive Patient Experience Award
I'm thrilled to announce that I've been awarded the Patient Experience Award for implementing multi-departmental resident coaching program that places resident education, patient care at its core. Grateful for the chance to make a difference. @StanfordSurgery @StanfordGenSurgery pic.twitter.com/Swd32jsfQK
— Aussama Nassar (@aussinassar) July 12, 2023