Residents in the Department of Surgery rotate through a variety of services, continually building on their foundational training and developing the skills they need to excel in whatever field they choose.

General Surgery

Easily one of the busiest services, our residents receive training in bread-and-butter general surgery cases and emergency surgical cases. The team consists of residents at all postgraduate (PGY) levels. Junior-level residents learn how to manage surgical patients on the floor and participate in minor local cases, hernia repairs, and breast pathology. Senior residents gain experience in laparoscopic and robotic surgery.

Bariatric Surgery

As a Bariatric Center of Excellence, NYU Langone Hospital—Long Island provides our residents with a versatile experience in primary and revisional weight loss surgery on the minimally invasive platform. Additionally, the Department of Surgery offers through the Fellowship Council an accredited Advanced Gastrointestinal, Bariatric, and Minimally Invasive Surgery Fellowship.

Colorectal Surgery

Our residents experience high-quality education in the field of colon and rectal surgery. With the launch of our successful Inflammatory Bowel Disease Program, our residents experience multidisciplinary care of these complex patients. Additionally, residents provide surgical care for patients with a wide variety of colorectal pathology and participate in endoscopy and multidisciplinary tumor board.

Vascular Surgery

Our residents are exposed to the management of vascular patients by traditional open techniques and newer minimally-invasive endovascular routes. Residents gain extensive experience in preoperative assessment clinically, radiographically and work directly alongside our vascular attendings and fellows in procedures such as diagnostic arteriography, arterial and venous reconstruction, and other advanced catheter-based interventions. Weekly attendance at a vascular multidisciplinary conference is required.

Cardiothoracic Surgery

This is an advanced service with most of our thoracic surgeries being performed robotically, with more than 10 robotic video-assisted thoracoscopic surgeries (VATS) per week. Our cardiac service is busy with caring for our own cardiac patients in a 12-bed cardiothoracic intensive care unit (CT-ICU), performing coronary artery bypass grafts (CABGs), transcatheter aortic valve replacements (TAVRs), and placing patients on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) when needed. Residents also have outpatient experience with both the cardiac and thoracic surgeons.

Surgical Oncology, ENT, and Breast Surgery

This is a complex and busy service. On this service, residents are trained in the ethics in caring for oncologic patients while also addressing the surgical disorders in endocrine, hepatobiliary, pancreatic, head and neck, and breast systems. NYU Langone Hospital – Long Island performs a breadth of complex cases from the Robotic Whipple to multidisciplinary team HIPECs. Junior residents spend most of their time performing procedures of the breast and head and neck, while mid-level and senior residents gain in-depth exposure to management of endocrine and hepato-pancreato-biliary (HPB) diseases.

Acute Care and Trauma

The Trauma Center at NYU Langone Hospital—Long Island is a certified Level 1 Trauma Center. On this busy rotation, residents experience all aspects of caring for trauma patients from the primary survey to discharge. Junior residents learn the complex workup involved and have the opportunity to perform procedures such as chest tubes, laceration repairs, and line placement. Senior residents lead traumas, manage a multidisciplinary team, and operate. Daily rounds and educational lectures are also incorporated in the rotation.

Pediatric Surgery

Residents are exposed early to the complex and unique care of the pediatric population from an operative view and develop a range of skills in the operative and perioperative care for children. As a Level 3 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and robust programs in pediatric GI, Pediatric Hem/Onc, our institution sees a wide range of pathology in congenital and acquired anomalies and diseases such as developmental, inflammatory, or neoplastic pathology. One the Pediatric Surgery rotation, PGY 3 and PGY 5’s alternate.

Transplant Surgery

During PGY-3, residents rotate through the NYU Langone Transplant Institute for one month. They receive training in liver, kidney, and pancreas transplantation including determination of transplant eligibility, preoperative workup, immunosuppressive therapy, donor and recipient procedures, and postoperative care. Residents also participate in procurements procedures, often involving local and regional travel with the transplant fellows and attendings.

Burn Surgery

As a PGY-2, our residents spend one month at the New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center Burn Center where they learn how to care for children and adults with mild to life-threatening burn injuries. Residents learn critical care in the ICU, fluid and electrolyte management, emergency room triage, and outpatient management. Residents gain operative experience with grafting and escharotomies. At the end of this rotation, residents should be able to choose the type of burn care, type of operative procedure, and when to intervene with postoperative care.

Surgical Intensive Care

The Surgical ICU (SICU) prepares residents for the highly complex care of patients in the perioperative setting. Our SICU is a “closed unit” and therefore, as rotating PGY-2s, our residents learn to independently manage highly complex surgical populations including trauma, neurosurgery, general surgery, orthopedics, spine, ear, nose and throat, plastics, vascular, urology, and high-risk obstetrics and gynecology. In addition, PGY 1 residents rotate for one month in the SICU, to learn basics of care of the critically ill surgery patient. All SICU critical care service attendings are board-certified general surgeons with additional certification in critical care surgery.

Rotation Schedules

Below is a sample rotation schedule for each resident year. New to our residency is the night float/call format. The night float system consists of PGY-1 residents, while the call system consists of PGY-2 and PGY-3 residents, as well as a chief resident. This format allows team members to provide longitudinal care of patients. When not on night float, junior residents typically take call two weekend days per month. Chief residents take call about once a month. Senior residents (PGY 4 or PGY 5), will serve as night chief for one block per month. The remaining chiefs will participate in call in rotation with the night chief.

PGY-4 residents can spend one to two months on an elective rotation of their choosing. This time provides additional opportunities for residents to pursue their interests at the main campus. Elective rotations are offered in different surgical subspecialties. Electives can be requested outside of NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine if the desired elective is not available in our hospital, such as Burn Units.

PGY-1

Acute care and trauma surgery
Vascular surgery
General surgery service
Colorectal surgery
Endocrine/hepatobiliary/surgical oncology/ENT
Minimally invasive surgery/bariatric surgery
Night float selective
Surgical intensive care unit (SICU)
Selective

PGY-2

Acute care and trauma surgery
General surgery service
Endocrine/hepatobiliary/Surgical oncology/ENT
Cardiothoracic surgery
Pediatric surgery
SICU
Consult service
Burn surgery/selective

PGY-3

General surgery service
Colorectal surgery
Endocrine/hepatobiliary/surgical oncology/ENT
Minimally invasive surgery/bariatric surgery
Vascular surgery
Transplant surgery
Pediatric Surgery

PGY-4

Acute care and trauma surgery
General surgery service
Endocrine/hepatobiliary/surgical oncology/ENT thoracic surgery
Vascular surgery
Elective
Night float
Cardiothoracic surgery

PGY-5

General surgery service
Colorectal surgery
Endocrine/hepatobiliary/surgical oncology
Minimally invasive surgery/bariatric surgery
Pediatric surgery
Community rotation at Long Island Community Hospital
Night Float