Curriculum

Advanced Gastrointestinal and Minimally Invasive Surgery Fellowship

The fellow is exposed to a broad range of surgical experiences. Clinical experience is structured for the acquisition of clinical acumen through graduated responsibility in pre-, intra- and postoperative patient care. The fellow will gain significant experience in laparoscopic upper GI, hepatobiliary, colorectal, hernia and solid organ procedures. The fellow will learn techniques in robotic assisted, laparoscopic and thoracoscopic operations. The fellow will also be exposed to complex open gastrointestinal and hepatopancreaticobiliary procedures. The rotations are 2-month blocks on either services. The curriculum will follow the Fellowship Council Curricula (core, bariatric, flexible endoscopy, hepato-biliary and MIS).

Rotation Duration
Minimally Invasive Surgery (GI, solid organ, colorectal, robotics, flexible endoscopy) 6 months
Surgical Oncology 6 months

Conferences and Teaching

Teaching conferences are categorized as departmental or divisional. Departmental conferences are described below:

  • Professors hour: Weekly conference relevant to surgery patient care
  • Grand rounds: Weekly conference focused on specific issues relevant to general surgery or surgical subspecialties
  • Pre-op conference: Weekly conference to discuss patient for upcoming week
  • GI tumor board: Biweekly conference discussing complex GI surgical oncology patients
  • Morbidity and mortality: Weekly review of all complications and deaths
  • Journal club: Quarterly review of articles relevant to a specific topic selected by the responsible faculty member and the resident coordinators
  • Research conference: Twice a month research and quality improvement projects are discussed and reviewed

The fellow will be appointed as a lecturer in clinical surgery. As such, the fellow will participate in all of the major teaching conferences of the department of surgery and will obtain experience in educational methods for describing and teaching techniques related to the content areas of the fellowship.

Expectations include: Teaching and rounds with residents, medical student lectures, presentation and coordination of general surgery conferences and the development and implementation of research projects related to the content areas of the fellowship. This includes teaching basic laparoscopy to junior residents in the OR and assistance with GI surgical, laparoscopic and endoscopic courses and conferences hosted by the department of surgery. The delivery of one surgical grand rounds presentation during the academic year of training is required. During the course of the year, the fellow will function in a supervisory role, with attending back-up as needed for general surgery cases.

Operative Experience

Operative experience will take place at: 1- UF Health Jacksonville, a 695 bed teaching hospital with 15 main operating rooms, including four state-of-the-art videoscopic designated rooms with endoscopic integration. One of the rooms is also configured for robotic surgery. 2- UF Health North campus, a 92-bed hospital, 24/7 adult and pediatric emergency center and an outpatient multispecialty medical office building.

Call Responsibilities

Calls will be taken from home and will average 3 nights each month at either campuses. The management of assigned patients as well as emergencies is expected. Support services and systems are in place to assure that fellows do not spend an inordinate amount of time in non-educational activities that can be conducted properly by other personnel. Work hours will be limited according to the institutional guidelines as mandated by the ACGME.

Clinic Responsibilities

The fellow will participate in the preoperative assessment and planning as well as the postoperative follow-up of their assigned patients.

Research

Fellows are required to participate in at least two research projects that leads to a publication in a peer-reviewed article journal and/or presentation at a national meetings. There are several opportunities for fellows to become involved with faculty clinical research projects on the Jacksonville campus.

Each year the UF College of Medicine – Jacksonville hosts a Research Day that brings all of the college's departments together. Trainees have the opportunity to give an oral presentation and/or a poster presentation on their research projects before a panel of judges and an audience of their peers. You will find evidence of our program's residents' participation in Research Day in the document listing resident scholarly activity located on the surgery residency site.