Our General Surgery Residency Program has proudly trained residents since 1942. In 1958, the program was accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). We prepare a diverse group of motivated physicians to become confident and competent in general surgery.
Residents are primarily located at Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical Center, which is one of the largest and most advanced hospitals in the state. It is part of Wellstar Health System, a not-for-profit organization that operates multiple hospitals and healthcare facilities in the Atlanta metropolitan area. General surgery residents receive early operative experience and finish with 1,000-1,200 cases. This intimate program is distinguished by the close connection between residents and attending staff, and the strong esprit de corps among residents.
Hands-on, experiential learning starts in the first year and continues throughout the residency. The teaching faculty are deeply committed to providing the best in surgical education. Faculty members are always available and fully integrate their clinical practices into the training program. The robotics curriculum is longitudinal over multiple rotations throughout all five years of training. All residents are expected to graduate with an equivalency certificate to be credentialed in robotic surgery. We partner closely with Intuitive to provide learning experiences for the residents. We also have clinical faculty who act as Luminary Faculty for Intuitive in the specialties of general surgery, bariatrics and colorectal surgery.
Clinical rotations include General Surgery—both emergent and elective, Trauma Surgery, Surgical Critical Care, Vascular Surgery, Colorectal Surgery, Transplant Surgery, Pediatric Surgery, Burn Surgery, Hepatobiliary Surgery, Thoracic Surgery and Breast Surgery.
Wellstar offers qualified third and fourth-year medical students the opportunity to pursue a core or elective clerkship in General Surgery. The focus is on hands-on training in an exciting urban healthcare environment with diverse and often complex patient conditions.
Wellstar offers qualified fourth-year medical students the opportunity to pursue an elective/sub-internship clerkship in Acute Care General Surgery or Trauma Surgery.
Students interested in applying should email our Undergraduate Medical Coordinator, Samantha Dance at [email protected] with the required application materials below.
Students provide their own housing during the clerkship, often staying with friends or relatives in the Atlanta area or in nearby housing. Participants give the program high marks and benefit greatly from the opportunity to apply classroom knowledge to real world healthcare.
Requirements include
• Letter of Good Standing
• Rotation approval from the medical school
• Medical school transcript
• USMLE Step 1 score report
• Two Letters of Recommendation
• Curriculum Vitae
• Proposed Dates
*Please note a current affiliation agreement between Wellstar Health System and your institution is necessary for the rotation to be considered (check with your institution coordinator).
Leadership & House Staff
All applications are accepted through the electronic residency application service. We closely follow the recommendations by the APDS task force for general surgery applications and interviews.
Questions? Contact Program Coordinator Kathy Fayne.