Resident Feedback

Each chief resident upon graduation of the program submits a thorough written critique to the Program Director of their years at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Some of their comments follow:

"The program is considerably more cohesive than the one I matched at seven years ago. The old program was a strong one in the traditional sense of hard work, long hours and early responsibility but the evolution has still been for the better. In the past, education was a hands-on and learn-as-you go experience that was force-fed by the many hours spent in the hospital. Now, with the new work hours comes new individual responsibility to read. Didactics are more important than ever…"

"The ethnic diversity was comforting and I felt at home. The chief residents were friendly and unassuming. The faculty members were very approachable and I was surprised that they would stop and chat in the hallways. Overall, the atmosphere at this institution is cordial, collegiate and one is exposed to a diversity of personalities as well as operations. Recently, I have reviewed my operative log; I arrived to UMDNJ with less than 200 cases (as a PGY-3) and will leave with about 1200. One thousand cases in 3 years: I came here a physician and I leave a surgeon. Thank you for making that happen."

"Let's talk about the shore experience. The cases done at that institution under the clinic guise are the defining ones of my general surgical career. All kidding aside: My most memorable cases are those without an attending in the room, for the majority they didn't even walk in to take a peek. In that operating room, I was calling the shots and I liked it. My Teaching Assistant case load includes a thyroid lobectomy for a baseball sized goiter, a splenectomy for a basketball sized spleen, a diaphragmatic hernia repair, and an ileostomy takedown."

"This program has the ideal balance of clinical and operative cases, teaching, and academic opportunity in the laboratory in particular. I know that I could not have received better training as a future surgeon anywhere."