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PGY I Selection Criteria & Information

 

About our Residency Program

The Department of Surgery at SUNY Upstate Medical University offers a traditional, comprehensive, fully ACGME accredited general surgery residency program with a curriculum emphasizing supervised experience in both traditional, open surgical procedures and newer, laparoscopic, minimally invasive and robotic techniques.

Elective opportunities for basic and clinical research are also available as part of the residency program. University Hospital, a 409-bed, Level I Trauma Center, and Golisano Children’s Hospital serve 17 counties in the Upstate and Central New York area. Adjoining University Hospital, a 90,000 square foot, comprehensive Cancer Center opened its doors to patients in July 2014. Resident teams also rotate through the general surgery teaching services at adjacent Crouse Hospital, nearby Veterans Administration Hospital, and Upstate University Hospital at Community General.

SUNY Upstate Medical University is located in downtown Syracuse, the fourth largest city in New York State. Surrounded by breathtaking countryside, Syracuse offers a rich city life with varied and numerous cultural and recreational offerings.

Eligibility and Selection

Thank you for your interest in our general surgery residency program.  We offer six categorical and approximately five-seven undesignated preliminary positions.  We do not offer pre-match positions.

We will begin accepting applications in September 2023 through (ERAS) ONLY.  Please do not fax, email, or mail your CV, etc.  To be considered for an interview you must submit, through ERAS, your completed application along with Curriculum Vitae, medical school transcript, USLME Step I/COMLEX I official documentation, personal statement, Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE or Dean’s letter), and four letters of recommendation (preferably from U. S. surgeons with whom you have worked).  

Per Association of Program Directors in Surgery (APDS), we will start sending out interview invitations October 27, 2023.

We are seeking recent U.S. medical school graduates.  All applicants, if not currently enrolled in medical school, must have graduated within the last five years.  If you are a foreign medical graduate you will need U.S. clinical experience and must be ECFMG certified at the time of application, unless you are currently in medical school.  An observership/externship does not satisfy our requirement for clinical experience as it does not provide “hands on” patient care.  We are able to sponsor only a J-1 visa, with no exceptions.  We currently have a select number of foreign medical graduates in our program.

Supplemental ERAS Application

For the 2023/24 ERAS® cycle, our program will strongly encourage all applicants to complete a supplemental ERAS application, offered through the AAMC’s ERAS program. Applicants also will be required to complete the MyERAS application.

The additional information will help our program staff learn more about applicants’ medical education journey, including more meaningful information about work, volunteer, and research experiences, and help us better identify applicants who fit our program environment and mission.

This supplemental ERAS application will be delivered on a survey platform outside the MyERAS application and must be completed between September 1 and September 30.

Drug Policy

All candidates entering residency or fellowship programs at Upstate on or after July 1, 2017 will be subject to a pre-employment (post-offer) drug test.

Interviews

This year our interviews will have to take place using virtual meeting apps due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We still plan to conduct them during the months of November and December 2023 as well as January 2024. The deadline for submitting your application is November 30, 2023. You will also need to participate in the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) in March 2024.

We look forward to receiving your application and to meeting you (albeit remotely this year...) should you be offered the opportunity to interview with us in the fall.

Upstate University Hospital
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