SURGERY RESIDENCY PROGRAM
I. Objectives of the Surgery Residency Program
Surgery residents hold appointments as Veterinary Clinical Associates (VCAs) or Veterinary Resident Instructors. Residents are funded by Texas A&M University and are expected to provide patient care and teaching assistance in the clinical programs of the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Faculty will make extensive efforts to provide an outstanding program, but the ultimate responsibility for value gained from the program lies with the resident.
The training objectives for surgery residents are as follows:
A. Promote aptitude and clinical proficiency in the diagnosis, operative treatment, and postoperative management of animals with surgical disease(s)
B. Instruct the resident in the science and practice of veterinary surgery and its supportive disciplines.
C. Provide the resident with the opportunity to pursue career goals in teaching, research, clinical service, or specialty practice.
D. Permit and allow the resident to satisfy the requirements for board certification set forth by the American College of Veterinary Surgeons (ACVS).The resident should check the ACVS website (www.acvs.org/residents) and review the most current ACVS residency requirements within the first month of residency. It is the resident’s responsibility to be familiar with these requirements and to ensure they meet those requirements during the 3-year program.
E. Prepare the resident to express clinical ideas and concepts to other members of the veterinary profession in a concise, professional manner (e.g., seminars, lectures, conferences, laboratories, and publications).
II. Individual Resident Advisor
A. Resident Advisor
Within 90 days of beginning the residency, the resident shall choose a small animal surgery faculty member, who is an ACVS diplomate, to be his/her Residency Advisor and shall register him/herself with the ACVS. The resident is expected to consult with his/her advisor regarding development of a residency plan within 30 days after selecting the advisor. Additionally, an “Initial Resident Advisor’s Statement” (ACVS Form 1b) must be submitted to the ACVS Office within the first calendar quarter of the initiation of the program. The resident's choice of an advisor must be acceptable to the Program director and the Surgery Residency Committee.
B. Responsibilities of Advisors
1. Ensure that the resident is aware of all requirements of the residency program and options that are available. The resident is expected to consult with his/her prospective advisor(s) within 30 days after the start of the program to begin developing his/her individual schedule.
2. Supervise completion of scheduled requirements at designated intervals according to guidelines established by the Surgery Residency Committee.
3. Suggest reading material to aid in preparation for the ACVS board examination.
4. Communicate appropriate feedback to the resident regarding his/her continued progress in the program. Although encouraged at other times as well, feedback to the resident will be provided each time the Surgery Residency Committee conducts its evaluations twice yearly (approximately December 1st and May 1st). On these occasions, the resident's advisor also will concurrently inform the Surgery Residency Committee about the resident's progress.
5. Verify and sign the resident's surgical case, activity and presentation logs annually. Additionally, the resident advisor must complete and sign the “Annual Resident Advisor’s Statement” (ACVS Form II) which is included with each yearly log submission.
C. Responsibilities of the Head of Department and Section Chiefs
Notify the resident of his/her assigned clinical teaching responsibilities (i.e., laboratory instruction, didactic lectures, etc.).
D. Responsibilities of Program Director
Complete and submit a “Program Director’s Statement” to the ACVS office within 30 days of the start of the resident’s program. The resident is not considered to be in an officially sanctioned ACVS Residency Program until this form is filed and the Resident and Program Director have received a written confirmation of receipt of the “Program Director’s Statement” from the ACVS office.
III. Graduate
A Master’s degree program to run concurrently with the residency is optional; residents wishing to pursue a PhD program are strongly advised to consider a consecutive type of program (e.g., PhD followed by a residency or vice versa). A resident who wishes to pursue a degree should discuss available options with the chair of the Surgery Residency Committee (Dr. Sharon Kerwin).
B. Specific requirements of the graduate degree program are described in greater detail in the Texas A&M University Graduate Catalog.
IV. Surgery Residency Program
A. Goals, Related Objectives, Requirements and Program Description
1. Participation in teaching of clinical surgery and patient management in the professional student program.
2. Participation in didactic and laboratory instruction of students in the professional curriculum is another component of residency training. The resident may be required or elect to help with laboratories in certain courses. This affords teaching experience as well as further professional development. The resident is expected to participate in daily student rounds and to help in the clinical instruction of third and fourth year veterinary students.
a. The resident will be assigned to assist in the teaching of Surgery I (VMID 935), Surgery II (VMID 936) and the surgical portion of General Surgery/Anesthesiology (VMID 923) and will be responsible for selected lectures in courses in the professional curriculum.
3. In-depth training in patient evaluation, performance of diagnostic procedures, use of therapeutic techniques, and overall surgical management of a variety of surgical diseases will be combined with experience in developing client relationships, fee structure, instrumentation, radiographic interpretation, and clinical laboratory evaluation.
a. The senior surgical resident will usually be in charge of a clinical student group for selected blocks during his/her 3rd year of the program, allowing for demonstration of the resident's surgical and organizational expertise and leadership. An ACVS diplomate will be assigned as a supervisor during each block of clinical service as "chief" resident.
4. The resident is required to complete the following:
a. The resident is required to submit 1 manuscript for publication in a refereed journal (as senior author) as part of credentialing for ACVS. It is strongly advised that this paper be reviewed by the resident's advisor by March 1 of the 3rd year.
Note: The minimum ACVS publication requirement is one publication in print or fully accepted for publication (proof provided) in an approved journal (See ACVS Approved Journal List) for which the applicant is the senior or sole author, and which has resulted from the applicant's research or clinical investigations initiated during their residency program. The manuscript must be accepted prior to August 1 of the year of credentials submission. (See the ACVS requirements for details. The website for the ACVS is http://www.acvs.org.)
b. The resident should submit a written proposal for his/her residency project to the Surgery Residency Committee no later than March 1 of the 1st year. The committee will accept, modify or reject the proposal. The resident is required to satisfactorily present the completed research in a departmental or surgery section seminar by June 1 of the 3rd year and a manuscript should be submitted for publication by the end of the residency.
c. A significant research project or clinical investigation during the residency program. If funding is required, the resident is expected to seek outside funding for the research project with guidance provided by the resident advisor or the faculty member supervising the project. The information from this research should be used for the manuscript that is due by March 1 of the 3rd year.
5. All residents will be required to present an oral seminar to the faculty once yearly. In the first year, it is suggested that the resident present a seminar on the proposed research topic. For the second year, the resident should present data from their research project. In the third year, the resident will present their final results from their research project.
6. The resident must obtain at least 80 hours of training under the supervision of a diplomate of each of the following specialty boards: American College of Veterinary Anesthesiologists, American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine, American College of Veterinary Pathology (specialty in Veterinary Pathology or Veterinary Clinical Pathology), and American College of Veterinary Radiology.
7. An external rotation (human hospital or specialty referral practice) may be considered for 1 block in the 3rd year in addition to the 2 blocks in the 3rd year that the resident is not assigned to clinic duty). Association with the on-going programs of the College of Medicine and interdisciplinary research is encouraged throughout the training period. Other medical programs may be substituted with approval of the Head of the Department, according to current ACVS guidelines.
8. The resident's progress and formal evaluation will be assessed by meeting with the Resident Advisor, Program Director, or Surgery Residency Committee at least twice yearly each year of the 3-year program. Continuation of the residency is contingent on the resident's satisfactory evaluation by the Surgery Residency Committee
9. The resident's progress will be reviewed on or about December 1 and May 1. Such information will be communicated to the resident by his/her advisor.10. Blocks that the resident is not assigned to clinical duty (year I - 2 4 week blocks; year II - 3 blocks; and year III - 2 blocks) will be used to complete the requirements of the residency program (including research, clinical investigation, preparation of manuscripts, specialty service training, etc.) and should be coordinated with the resident's advisor and the Section Chief of Surgery. The final 2 blocks of the residency program may not be taken as “off blocks” without approval of the Surgery Residency Committee.
11. Preparation of the resident to qualify for examination and certification by the ACVS. The resident is required to register with the Secretary-Treasurer of the ACVS at the beginning of his/her training program (see ACVS General Information Guide (GIG). The ACVS website is http://www.acvs.org.
B. Appointment
The academic rank of the resident will be Veterinary Resident Instructor.
C. Salaries and Benefits
1. Salaries are determined annually by the Head of the Department. They are standard for all residents in the Department of Veterinary Small Animal Clinical Sciences, and currently salaries increase with each year of service.
2. Residents may participate in the University's medical-surgical health insurance program.
3. All courtesies, such as athletic ticket purchases, use of university facilities, etc., are the same as for other faculty.
D. Certification of Completion of Program
A certificate of completion of the residency program will be presented to the resident upon successful completion of the 3-year surgery residency. A certificate will not be given for partial completion of a 3-year program or if the resident project is incomplete or unsatisfactory. ACVS bylaws require institutional certification of completion of the candidate's residency before an ACVS diploma is granted.
E. Duties and Responsibilities1. The clinical service assignments and educational programs are established to meet, and in most cases exceed, the minimum requirements for residency training programs as outlined from ACVS.
2. Surgery residents provide back-up surgical emergency duty on a rotating schedule. Residents are required to participate in the provision of emergency services by the Small Animal Clinic which will include providing backup to interns on emergency cases and taking surgery transfers. Residents will be required to take case transfers on weekends to facilitate patient care of surgery referrals. The schedule will be assigned by the Head Resident using a rotating schedule. Although every effort will be made to make emergency duty assignments as fair as possible, variations in assignments may occur if necessary to facilitate the function of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital.
3. The resident must present a minimum of 6 seminars during the residency program. At least 3 of the seminars will be presented in the departmental Intern-Resident Seminar Series. Participation in the departmental faculty-intern-resident training seminar series is required. Details of the requirements can be obtained from the Chair of the Surgery Residency Committee.
a. The seminar program consists of a variety of scheduled professional development activities (clinicopathologic conferences, seminars and group discussions) arranged by the Head Resident in conjunction with a Faculty Coordinator. Seminars are presented on a rotating schedule, and all surgery residents also participate in weekly surgery resident's conferences. In general, activities will be scheduled weekly during the Fall and Spring semesters, with some activities occurring in the summers, depending on faculty availability.
4. Participation in teaching activities is required.
a. Residents will be expected to assist in didactic and laboratory instruction of students in the professional curriculum, as described under IV above.. Residents shall not head or have major teaching responsibilities for any course, elective, or didactic.
5. The publication and research requirements are described in section IV above.
6. The surgery resident must maintain a surgical case log listing date, case number, signalment, diagnosis, surgical procedure, whether elective or emergency, and whether responsibility was as primary or assistant surgeon, according to current ACVS guidelines for the year the resident started his/her program. This log must be reviewed and signed by the resident advisor annually and submitted to the office of the ACVS by August 1 of each year. A minimum of 400 surgical procedures is required over the course of the residency.
7. The resident must maintain a resident activity log and resident presentation log. A copy of these records will be submitted to the resident advisor and to the Chair of the Surgery Residency Committee annually, according to current ACVS guidelines. A copy of the resident activity log must be submitted to the ACVS office by August 1 of each year.
8. Participation in phone consultations with veterinarians/clients will be required. Responsibility will increase as the program progresses.
9. Holiday duty assignments will be determined by the Chief of Surgery and the Head Resident.
F. Resident Advisor requirements are described in Section II above.
G. Service Rotation and Educational Program
1. First-Year Surgery Resident
a. Clinical duty assignments: 10 blocks of surgery rotations and 2 blocks off, two weeks of which should include the specialty rotation in anesthesia; the second off block to be scheduled in the last half of the year.
i. The resident will be expected to meet with his/her assigned faculty member at the beginning, middle, and end of each block to establish responsibilities and assess progress.
ii. Participate in service rounds.
iii. Participate in Emergency duty as described above under “Appointment”
b. Registration with the secretary-treasurer of the ACVS should be done by October 1st of the 1st year.
c. Scheduled conferences in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
i. Surgery resident rounds (required).
ii. Journal club or departmental resident seminar series as described above (required).
iii. Surgery ward rounds (required).
iv. Radiology conferences (recommended).
v. Surgical pathology rounds (recommended).
vi. Anesthesiology conferences (recommended).
d. Scheduled conferences at the College of Medicine (recommended).
e. Participation in student teaching laboratories
f. Participation in the following programs:
i. Continuing education courses relating to small animal surgery (highly recommended).
ii. Research (formal proposal to be prepared and submitted for possible outside funding).
a. Individual (for pilot research).
b. In conjunction with a faculty member.
g. Faculty-intern-resident Seminar Program Participation
i. The Head Resident and Faculty Coordinator for this program will schedule and assign responsibility for activities within this program. No more than 2 major presentations will be required of an individual during the 1st year.
ii. Participation in the departmental seminar program is required. In addition, attending seminars and conferences held by other units of the college (e.g., radiology, necropsy, pathology, clinical pathology, physiology, etc.) is encouraged.
h. Service Rounds - Daily rounds of assigned clinical service are required, but the degree of participation will vary with the service and will by determined by the senior clinician.
i. In general, the second year resident(s) will be assigned to clinical duty during the ACVS Forum. This may be subject to change depending on resident numbers, however, every effort will be made to allow each resident to attend ACVS twice during the three year program, with emphasis on attendance during the third year.
j. Didactic course program (to be completed during the 3-year residency program).
k. Maintenance of a surgical log and record of his/her individual residency program.
2. Second-Year Surgery Resident
a. Clinical duty assignments: 9 blocks on and 3 off to complete project or an out-rotation. The off blocks will be scheduled to meet the needs of the resident and the department by the best available compromise
b. Scheduled conferences in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and College of Medicine
c. Teaching and publication requirements with the final plan for the resident project should be established by August 1 of the 2nd year. In general, the tasks associated with collection of original data (e.g., animal studies, analysis of specimens, etc.) for the resident's research project should be completed during the 2nd year (before July 1 of the 3rd year), and data submitted to present in abstract form at ACVS either in the 2nd or 3rd year.
d. Emergency duty
e. Maintenance of a surgical log and record of the individual residency program
f. Participation in Intern-Resident seminars, clinical rounds, teaching assignments, and emergency duty will continue as described in other portions of this document.
3. Third-Year Surgery Resident
a. Clinical duty assignments: 10 blocks on and 2 blocks off; the off blocks to be scheduled to meet the needs of the resident and the department by the best available compromise. The resident may be placed in charge of a clinical service and student group (with supervision by an ACVS diplomate) for up to 2 of his/her “on” blocks (with mutual agreement of the resident, his/her advisor, and the Surgery Residency Committee). He/she will not be assigned to clinical duty for 2 blocks. These blocks may not be taken during the last 2 blocks of the year without approval of the Surgery Residency Committee.
b. Scheduled conferences in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
c. Teaching and publication requirements and the following guidelines are strongly encouraged. All data analysis for the research project should be completed by December 1 of the final year, and manuscript preparation should be started. Research projects should be written in final form for submission to a refereed journal by March 1 of the 3rd year. Satisfactory completion of a research project is required for residency certification.d. Emergency duty
e. Maintenance of a surgical log and record of the individual residency program as specified in III.E.6 and 7.
f. Participation in Intern-Resident seminars, clinical rounds, teaching assignments, and emergency duty will continue as described in other portions of this document.
g. Application to take the ACVS certifying examination is due by August 1 immediately after completion of the third year. The resident should plan in advance to get necessary signatures and review, as some faculty may not be available in July. The resident should consult the current ACVS guidelines when compiling credentials packets for review.
