Acute Care Surgery, Trauma, and Surgical Critical Care Fellowship Program

Training Surgeons in Acute Care Surgery and Critical Care

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center's Fellowships in Acute Care Surgery and Surgical Critical Care provide strong clinical and academic training to surgeons seeking to emerge as leaders in this evolving field. The one-year Surgical Critical Care Fellowship provides training to two fellows per year. The two- year Acute Care Surgery fellowship provides training to one fellow per year.

The one-year SCC program, which is accredited by the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Residency Review Committee, focuses on a broad-based curriculum in trauma and surgical critical care with multidisciplinary exposure in four high-acuity intensive care units: the Trauma Surgical ICU, the Surgical ICU, the Cardiovascular Surgical ICU, and the Neurosciences ICU.

The two-year ACS program is designed for those who wish to complete the SCC year and then immerse themselves in a second year of acute care surgery. This includes rotations in high acuity emergency general surgery and trauma, as well as an international rotation. Electives will be determined  by whether the candidate has a primary interest in honing their advanced operative skills, preparing for a career in global surgery, or developing an academic research career. Participation in an intense 7-week long Summer Program in Clinical Effectiveness at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health may also be an option.

The one-year SCC fellowship provides our fellows with high volume exposures to a wide variety of general surgery subspecialties, as well as acute care surgery, cardiothoracic, neurosurgery, orthopedics, otorhinolaryngology, plastic surgery, transplant, urology, and vascular surgery. Graduating fellows will be well-trained in leading-edge bedside echocardiography, a unique strength of our SCC training program.

Additional critical care experience will be available in the Cardiovascular ICU, as well as during local rotations in burns and pediatric intensive care units at Boston's other Harvard teaching hospitals. A dedicated research elective gives fellows the opportunity for innovation and scientific discovery. Electives are available in acute care surgery, trauma radiology, emergency medical services, global health, blood bank, or can be tailored to individual interests. Previous fellows have earned a Certificate in Applied Biostatistics from Harvard Catalyst.

Overall, fellows receive a comprehensive educational experience in the management of complex patients using modern technologies and innovative techniques in advanced airway management, conventional and non-conventional modes of ventilation, invasive and non-invasive hemodynamic monitoring, permissive hypotension, hypothermic resuscitation, and continuous renal replacement therapy. Fellows can expect to graduate with broad-based clinical skills. Graduates will be board eligible in the Surgical Critical Care. We are proud that our graduates’ board pass rate is 100%.

Successful candidates will have completed an ACGME-accredited general surgery residency and be  board eligible in general surgery. Consideration will also be given to exceptional candidates who have completed three years of general surgical training. 

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a 621-bed adult tertiary/quaternary facility and Level 1 Trauma Center, is a major teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. It is a founding member of CareGroup and the only Level 1 Trauma Center in the Beth Israel Lahey Health system of 13 hospitals, an organized system of quality healthcare serving individuals, families, and communities in New England. Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School are Equal Opportunity Employers.

Applications to both the SCC and ACS Fellowships will be accepted through SAFAS. Deadline is August 15, 2020. Please contact us with any questions at ephilli4@bidmc.harvard.edu.