General Surgery
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"Our program is highly competitive and the average USMLE Step 1 score of our applicants is usually around 230."
- New York University Department of General Surgery
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Why pursue General Surgery as a career?
2010 General Surgery Salary
Overview of Residency Training
To become a general surgeon, five years of residency training are required. According to the AMA and AAMC, there are over 7,600 residents training in 246 ACGME-accredited general surgery residency programs. Seventy-nine percent are USMDs, 18% are international medical graduates, and 3% are osteopathic graduates.
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General Surgery residents in the United States |
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# of total residents |
% USMDs |
% IMGs |
% osteopathic graduates |
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7,661 |
79% |
18% |
3% |
| Data adapted from Brotherton S, Etzel S. Graduate medical education, 2009 - 2010. JAMA 2010; 304(11): 1255 - 1270. | |||
2010 Match Data
General surgery is a competitive specialty. In 2010, nearly 1,100 positions were available in categorical residency training programs (allopathic residency programs). Most positions were filled by U.S. medical school seniors. However, a considerable number of U.S. seniors (150) failed to match in 2010.
Osteopathic and international medical graduate applicants are less successful. Both groups are considered independent applicants, and, in the 2010 NRMP Match, 70% of independent applicants failed to match into general surgery. To enter the field, osteopathic applicants may also apply to the 41 AOA-approved general surgery residency programs.
Why pursue General Surgery as a Career?
General surgeons discuss reasons why they chose to pursue a career in general surgery:
Sharona Ross, MD
Ronald Jones, MD
2010 General Surgeon Compensation/Salary
Find out how much a general surgeon makes
Subspecialties of General Surgery
Subspecialties in which general surgeons can pursue fellowship training include:
Board certification is available in vascular surgery, pediatric surgery, surgical critical care, thoracic surgery, and colorectal surgery. An excellent article describing existing pathways into surgical subspecialization is the following:
Graduate education in general surgery and its related specialties and subspecialties in the United States
Excelling in your General Surgery Clerkship
Our book, Success on the Wards: 250 Rules for Clerkship Success, has an extensive chapter that will prepare you for this clerkship. Read pages 6 and 7 of the first chapter for more information.
See how our book has helped others.
Surgery Clerkship: 150 Biggest Mistakes And How To Avoid Them
General Surgery Residency Application
Almost all residency programs require applicants to submit their completed application through the Electronic Residency Application Service, also known as ERAS. ERAS does not, however, allow applicants to submit their curriculum vitae or CV as part of this application. Instead, ERAS requires all applicants to transfer information from their CV to the ERAS Application Form. It is the ERAS Application Form that is then sent to programs for review along with the the rest of your application.
Once the application is received, program directors will read it closely and carefully. The application will be used to assess the quality of your written communication skills. Programs place considerable emphasis on communication skills because effective communication has been shown to directly affect the quality of care given to patients.
Therefore, it is imperative that all information in your application is well communicated and error-free. In our experiences reviewing and editing applications, errors are common. We agree with the words of the American College of Surgeons. "Grammatical errors are almost as big a problem as spelling errors, although they are not usually detectable by a superficial look. Please, ask someone else with a strong editorial eye to read your statement before you submit it."
We have considerable experience reviewing and editing the ERAS Application Form can make sure that your application is polished, professional, and powerful.
Our ERAS Application Review/Editing Service can be purchased through our online store. All clients will work directly with Dr. Samir Desai, author of The Successful Match.
Important Information for the Aspiring General Surgeon
Attitudes, training experiences, and professional expectations of US general surgery residents: a national survey
Employment and satisfaction trends among general surgery residents from a community hospital
The training needs and priorities of male and female surgeons and their trainees
Why do residents leave general surgery? The hidden problem in today's programs
Attracting medical students to surgical residency programs
Comparison of private versus academic practice for general surgeons: a guide for medical students and residents
Women in academic general surgery
Perceptions and predictors of surgeon satisfaction: a survey of spouses of academic surgeons
Career and lifestyle satisfaction among surgeons: what really matters? The National Lifestyles in Surgery Today Survey
A 25-year single institution analysis of health, practice, and fate of general surgeons
Combating stress and burnout in surgical practice: a review
Burnout and career satisfaction among American surgeons
Surgeon distress as calibrated by hours worked and nights on call