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Virginia Mason Surgery

General Surgery Residency: Virginia Mason Medical Center

The Virginia Mason general surgery residency program is the oldest accredited surgical residency in the Pacific Northwest. It was founded in 1920 by James Tate Mason, MD, and John M. Blackford, MD, when Virginia Mason Clinic first opened its doors. Virginia Mason’s Graduate Medical Education Department currently consists of eight ACGME accredited programs, the surgery residency program is accredited for 32 residents, with five graduating chiefs.

Our residency program has an educational environment that is stimulating, supportive, and collegial. Our residents participate in a variety of educational experiences. These include daily didactic sessions, multi-disciplinary conferences, simulation experiences as well as clinical rotations within Virginia Mason and at other hospitals in the area. This allows our residents to have an incredible breadth and depth of cases, and strong resident morale. Our residents are immersed in a culture of patient safety and continual quality improvement based on the Virginia Mason Production System (VMPS), a nationally recognized management system that improves patient safety and eliminates waste.

Virginia Mason graduates have been uniformly successful in gaining certification from the American Board of Surgery, and in developing active surgical practices or obtaining positions in advanced fellowships in surgery. We have a long legacy of excellence in surgical training that continues to grow as the field of surgery evolves.

Program aims

  • Patient care: To advance the care of surgical patients by graduating safe, competent general surgeons ready to enter practice or pursue fellowship training.
  • Surgical education: To provide a balanced clinical experience emphasizing early operative exposure, a diverse and complex case mix, and continuity of care in order to acquire sound decision making and strong technical skills.
  • Teamwork: To promote a collegial environment of inquiry that encourages learning in a multi-disciplinary fashion.

Program fast facts

5 year program | 5 residents per year | optional research year

Program features

  • Comprehensive, in-depth surgical training
  • Tight-knit team-oriented environment
  • Tertiary/quaternary regional subspecialty referral center
  • Unopposed operative experience
  • Early operative exposure for junior residents
  • Affiliations with Harborview Medical Center and Seattle Children's Hospital
  • Robust robotics curriculum
  • Plentiful research opportunities
  • Optional dedicated research year

Clinical experience

  • General surgery (HPB, colorectal, bariatric, breast, endocrine, MIS)
  • Rural surgery
  • Thoracic surgery
  • Vascular surgery
  • Pediatric surgery
  • Trauma, critical care & burn surgery
  • Endoscopy
  • Transplant surgery
  • Cardiac surgery
  • Plastic surgery

Why choose Virginia Mason

  • Kendall Weierich, MD

    "The resident-centric culture, and the incredible faculty that support us throughout our training. It is truly a gem of a program, and I couldn't imagine training anywhere else." – Kendall Weierich, MD, class of 2026

       

  • Jonathan Isley, MD

    "Simple. The people. Faculty take a genuine interest in teaching and training each resident to be our best. Our resident group is like family both inside and outside the hospital." – Jonathan Isley, MD, class of 2026

       

  • Clarissa Paz-Stoltzfus, MD

    "I initially applied to VM for the mix of community and academia, stayed because of the wonderful people and camaraderie." – Clarissa Paz-Stoltzfus, MD, class of 2026

       

  • Anna Melio, MD

    "I loved my interview with VM, and felt like I really connected with the residents and attendings. I was looking for a program where I would get incredible training in an environment that was supportive, and I am so happy to have found that at VM." – Anna Melio, MD, class of 2027

       

  • Erik Stiles, MD

    "The people. I 've known some of them for years. I know beyond doubt that I will become an excellent technician and compassionate surgeon after completing this program." – Erik Stiles, MD, class of 2026