Our two year Acute Care Surgery Fellowship program is based out of Community Regional Medical Center (CRMC) in Fresno, California. CRMC has 650 beds (68 ICU beds) and is the only Level 1 trauma center between Los Angeles and Sacramento. This catchment area within the San Joaquin Valley bioregion includes an approximate area of +15,000 square miles and a population of approximately 4 million, resulting in more than 4,000 annual trauma-related visits to the Emergency Department. Approximately 20% are severely injured (Injury Severity Score > 15) and 25% go directly from the ED to the OR or the ICU.

The Acute Care Surgery Fellowship encompasses both trauma and non-trauma surgical emergencies, as well as surgical critical care. Fellows are involved in all aspects of patient care, from initial evaluation through discharge, providing experience in comprehensive critical care management. Through this integrated educational experience, fellows will learn to become leaders in acute care surgery.

During the first year of the program (PGY-6), fellows will focus on surgical critical care in an ACGME/RRC approved training program. Rotational experiences include: trauma, cardiovascular, burn, medicine, pediatric, and general surgical critical care.

During the second year of the program (PGY-7), fellows will focus on gaining a comprehensive knowledge of critical care, trauma, emergency general surgery and advanced operative skills. Rotational experiences include: thoracic surgery, vascular surgery, transplant/hepatobiliary surgery, orthopedics, and neurosurgery.

In addition, fellows are required to undertake research projects to be presented at national conferences and published in reputable medical journals. Fellows are also encouraged to attend the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST) annual conference and participate in the Advanced Surgical Skills for Exposure in Trauma (ASSET) course.