The surgical rotation comprises 9 weeks of general surgery in the first and second years as well as surgically oriented E.R. experiences. The family practitioner must be competent to recognize surgical emergencies and understand the indication and contraindications for various types of surgical treatment. The practitioner must be well trained in basic surgical principles and be able to adequately manage surgical diagnosis, as well as preoperative and postoperative problems. The family physician must be able to give proper advice, explanations and emotional support to the patient throughout a surgical hospitalization and should be sensitive to the emotional aspects of surgery.

The residents will be supervised in emergency surgical techniques such as thoracentesis, chest tube placement, paracentesis and large bore fluid resuscitation line placement, and will gain experience in handling multiple trauma patients. To round out this aspect of training, the resident does a rotation in the Emergency Dept. The residents work closely with private general surgeons and are not responsible for a complete surgical service. Residents are encouraged to scrub on many cases, but not all routine procedures. Outpatients surgical specialty training will be provided in orthopedics, gynecology, ophthalmology and ENT. The physician's office is the best place to gain training relative to non-emergency surgical diagnosis and evaluation for elective surgery. Additional surgical subspecialty opportunities are available during elective time.