General Surgery Residency

In 2016, our Department celebrated the Centennial anniversary of the Yale Surgical Residency. The last century has been rich with innovation, novel educational endeavors, and groundbreaking research. The Department of Surgery at the Yale School of Medicine has always been dedicated to training the rising leaders in American surgery—experts in clinical surgery, creators of knowledge, and indefatigable educators who will influence the field of surgery for generations to come. Our graduates have spread across the nation and the world to every type of surgical career, and are the pride of the Department.

Graduates from our program experience a broad range of clinical settings and graduate with a high volume of surgical cases of all levels of complexity. Our training program is marked by early experience in the operating room; junior residents commonly achieve 300 to 350 surgical cases in the first two years. Following the principles of graded autonomy, the later years of clinical training are formed by experiences with team leadership, advanced decision making, and busy surgical schedules. With this clinical training in hand, our trainees are selected for the finest, most competitive fellowships year after year.

Part of this success relies on establishing an academic trajectory early in training. We do this by providing robust experiences during the Professional Development years. Known formerly as lab or research years, most residents will take a two year hiatus from clinical work to pursue an interest relevant to their professional development. At Yale, the beauty of this experience is undoubtedly the vast range of scholarly opportunities available to surgical residents. Our residents have access to scholarship within the Department, the Medical School, and Yale University at large, as well as degree programs up to and including Doctor of Philosophy. Our residents present at the podia of nearly all national surgical societies and associations, and will commonly graduate with 10-20 original manuscripts published during their time here with us.

The Yale Surgical Residency is also unique in its format of shared governance and trainee well-being. The Surgical Residency Advisory Council is a resident-run organization dedicated to improving all aspects of resident education, providing resident leadership opportunities, fostering mentorship, and elevating the academic productivity of the program. We also have a program-wide structure that supports the well-being of our trainees. We prepare our surgeons for lengthy and satisfying careers by encouraging a healthy and thoughtful approach to well-being and stress management during training.

Whatever a resident’s career interest may be, the Yale Surgical Residency helps to facilitate success by establishing formal mentorship by senior residents and faculty, streamlining scholarly endeavors, and providing resources to ensure success. As the Program Director, I serve our individual residents by coaching them each to achieve their own goals and successes. Although Yale-New Haven Hospital is one of the largest in the country, our program has always possessed a special familial comfort. The ties that bind us provide the mutualism, support and friendship that will be critical to your success as a surgical resident.

I thank you for your interest in our program and look forward to laying the groundwork for excellence in our next 100 years.

Warm regards,

Andrew J. Duffy, MD, FACS, FASMBS

Program Director, General Surgery Residency
Yale School of Medicine
Office of Surgical Education
310 Cedar Street, FMB 0121
New Haven, CT 06520-8062
Email: andrew.duffy@yale.edu