Welcome From the Program Director

It is indeed a pleasure to welcome you on behalf of the General Surgical Residency Program here at the Georgia Health Sciences University.The residency has a well-established record of serving the needs or our trainees, preparing them for surgical careers in a variety of venues.The Georgia Health Sciences University Hospitals and Clinics, the Augusta Veterans Administration Hospital, and local private hospitals have provided a very solid clinical base for the residency, and continue to do so.

Resources at GHSU include the area's only level 1 trauma center, the Children's Medical Center providing tertiary pediatric services and a very robust pediatric surgical service, and a developing surgical skills laboratory.GHSU offers specialty fellowship-trained faculty expertise in surgical oncology, vascular surgery, trauma surgery, surgical critical care, pediatric surgery, transplantation, and gastrointestinal surgery including surgical nutrition, endoscopy, and advanced laparoscopy.There is also tertiary expertise in the surgical subspecialties, including neurosurgery, cardiothoracic surgery, plastic surgery, otolaryngology, and urology, each of which support the general surgery training program with subspecialty rotation offerings.

The Augusta VA Hospital, located on the same campus as GHSU, has a large and growing patient population. A busy general surgical service and vascular service, a developing thoracic surgical service, and a large volume of endoscopic cases are significant and important components of the residency provided by the VA experience.

Local private hospitals currently contribute to the residents' experience in colorectal, vascular, and general surgery and provide an important opportunity to experience surgical practice in the private sector.

Optional laboratory research experience, including programs that can lead to a full Ph.D. degree, are available for residents who are interested in developing a research base for an academic career.Residents participating in these programs typically take one or more years off after their first 2 years of training, and recent participants have successfully accomplished major projects presented at national and international forums.

Recent graduates have successfully pursued fellowships in virtually all subspecialties, including plastics, pediatric surgery, minimally invasive surgery, vascular surgery, and surgical oncology, matching at highly acclaimed national centers.Residents not pursuing fellowship or academic career goals have very successfully been recruited to private practice opportunities, and been highly effective in developing their surgical practices in those settings.

Again, on behalf of our residency, it is a pleasure to welcome you to our web site.If we can be of any assistance to you in providing other information about the general surgical training program here at GHSU, please let us know!

Sincerely,

James J. Wynn, MD, FACS
Program Director, General Surgery Residency