Junior Conference

This conference is held on Mondays at 7 a.m. and is for the PGY1s, PGY2s, and PGY3s. The format of this conference utilizes a flipped classroom educational approach, where residents will be assigned weekly modules from SCORE (the General Surgery Resident Curriculum Portal). At the start of the conference residents will complete a short quiz, which will be reviewed by assigned faculty who serve as content experts and who will bring interactive case scenarios to be discussed after the review of the quiz.

Senior Conference

This conference is held on Mondays at 7 a.m. and is for the PGY4s and PGY5s. The format of this conference focuses on scheduled topics where faculty experts moderate sessions that are much like the real oral boards. Brief feedback is provided immediately and formal feedback is provided every 6 months.

Supplemental Education Conference

This conference is held on Monday morning from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. for all residents. The focus of this conference shifts throughout the year to address additional education topics separate from or building on the SCORE curriculum. From July 1 – Sept 1 we hold “Summer School” covering a variety of clinical topics such as: Patient Handoffs, Consults, Presenting Patients, Discharge Planning, Medical Student Teaching, as well as Giving and Receiving Feedback. From September – January the focus shifts to ABSITE review sessions. February through June, we focus on comprehensive topics, such as; Wellness, Quality Improvement, and Narrative Medicine, led by UIOWA Professor Emeritus and Author, Carol Scott-Conner, MD, PhD, MBA.

ABSITE Review Conference

General surgery residents take the American Board of Surgery In-Training Exam (ABSITE) every year. The residency program is dedicated to helping residents succeed on this exam, and thus every year beginning in August a weekly ABSITE Review Conference is held.  This conference is facilitated by one of our junior faculty members and focuses on one ABSITE topic a week.

Surgical Audit

This conference is held on Tuesdays at 6:30 a.m. The content of this conference focuses on cases selected to present and an appropriate literature review in order to improve patient care and reduce complications. Residents selected to present cases, work with faculty members in the development of presentation.

Grand Rounds

This conference is held Tuesdays from September through June on Tuesdays at 7:15 a.m. As surgical science and practice progresses rapidly, a need exists to continuously keep abreast of advances in surgical education, practice, and research. Utilizing visiting experts and local faculty members, development in these areas are formally presented and discussed.

Skills Lab

Skills lab sessions are held on Wednesdays at 7 a.m. A skills lab curriculum is developed allowing for the residents, based upon level, to learn skills in a controlled environment allowing for verifiable proficiency to be achieved. Sessions are led by department faculty and include formal presentations followed by hands-on practice.