Core and Surgical Skills Curriculum

Policy for Using LKSC Classrooms for Grand Rounds/Core Course -during COVID

The guidelines provided must be strictly followed as this privilege can be retracted if any part of the policy is breached.

Didactic Schedule for Residents:

-Faculty led sessions

-Interactive and case based

The Core Curriculum in General Surgery is designed to provide residents with a strong knowledge base in the fundamentals of diagnosis and treatment of surgical diseases.  The weekly 60-minute Core Course covers subject areas based on the SCORE general surgery curriculum.  Stanford and Stanford-affiliate faculty instructors lead sessions based on their respective areas of expertise.  While the sessions often include a didactics component, the Core Course is designed to be interactive with an emphasis on case-based oral-boards style questioning.

The Residency Program subsidizes access to The Surgical Council on Residency Education (SCORE) Portal, which provides a comprehensive curricular outline, learning modules, and a question bank covering essential topics for those training in general surgery.  Residents are encouraged to utilize the SCORE Portal as a primary educational resource throughout their years of surgical training.

Residency Two-Year Core Course Curriculum

• Weekly simulation-based skills sessions on Tuesday mornings
• Led by faculty and educational fellows
• PGY-based curriculum

Technical skills acquisition and refinement are an important area of surgical education that is formalized in a separate curriculum alongside the knowledge-based Core Course sessions. The Goodman Surgical Education Center (GSEC) and the Anatomy Bio-Skills Laboratory house the skills and simulation program and are accredited by the American College of Surgeons as a Level I Educational Institute. The skills curriculum is based on the ACS/APDS (Association of Program Directors in Surgery) Surgery Skills Curriculum for Residents.

The skills modules are based on PGY level and entails faculty-led instruction, individualized formative feedback, and assessment of skills proficiency.  Verification of proficiency testing is conducted to ensure that residents are progressing well in mastering essential core general surgical skills.  The curriculum also features exported certificate courses such as the American College of Surgeons Basic and Advanced Ultrasound courses, preparatory training for the ABS-required Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery and Fundamentals of Endoscopic Surgery exams, a robotic surgery curriculum sponsored by Intuitive Surgical, and cadaver courses.

Residency Skills Certification Timeline by PGY Year

For specific information regarding the specific required skills courses and assessments, see the links below:

·      BLS, ACLS, ATLS 

·      Central Line Insertion

·      Suturing and Knot-Tying

·      ACS Basic Ultrasound Course

·      ACS Advanced Ultrasound Course

·      Fundamentals of Endoscopic Surgery (FES)

·      Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS)

·      Bowel Anastomosis

·      ASSET Course

·      Open Vascular Skills

·      Mock Oral Exams

·      Robotic Surgery Training and Certificate Curriculum