Surgery

Message from the Program Director

Thank you for your interest in the General Surgery Training Program at Einstein.  I believe we have one of the finest training programs in the country.  We are an independent academic program with a particular focus on complex, high-acuity surgical care.  With a busy Level 1 trauma center and a nationally recognized multi-organ transplantation center, we care for some of the sickest patients in Philadelphia.

Our residents are technically superb and confident, graduating with some of the highest surgical volumes in the US.  An early and deep experience in the SICU prepares them to expertly care for critically ill patients.  Our trainees secure competitive and prestigious fellowships year after year and go on to become international leaders in surgery.

Our scholarly activity is impressively active.  Our faculty-led didactic teaching conferences are well organized and comprehensive.  We supplement SCORE's TWIS curriculum with faculty lectures, mock oral examinations, a textbook conference, and a robust simulation curriculum.

I invite you to review our annual newsletters (see links below) for more detail on the rich experience that our training program provides.  Good luck in the application process.  We look forward to meeting you.

About the General Surgery Residency Program 

The General Surgery Residency program is a five-year non-pyramidal residency. The fifth year incorporates a full range of senior responsibilities with considerable independence. Throughout the program, there is sufficient flexibility to meet the specific needs and interests of individual trainees. Opportunities for both clinical and basic research are available throughout the program. We also offer one- and two-year programs in preliminary surgery. 

The general surgery program offers core rotations in general surgery and all of the surgical subspecialties. An outside-institution, one-month elective may be available to fourth-year residents. Residents receive ample clinical and didactic teaching by a dedicated full-time faculty and highly active voluntary staff.

The goal of the general surgery residency program at Einstein Healthcare Network is to produce highly competent surgeons who can pursue either clinical or academic careers. All our teaching efforts are directed to this endeavor. Einstein Surgery offers a unique blend of a high-volume of operative cases and academic rigor. With the busiest Emergency Department in Philadelphia, we see a broad diversity of surgical disease, often with high acuity-including a busy Level 1 trauma center, along with a rich experience in acute care surgery, complex vascular disease, and transplantation.

Our residents and faculty pride themselves on the highest level of compassionate care. Our program's goal is to train outstanding technical surgeons who can think critically and practice independently upon graduation and comport themselves with utmost professionalism to enhance the field of American surgery. To that end, our residents and faculty are devoted to a rigorous didactic curriculum that emphasizes surgical knowledge, command of the literature, and effective decision-making and leadership.

Our chief residents typically graduate with 1200 major cases and have enjoyed considerable success in securing advanced fellowships or entering practice. A particular point of pride has been the feedback we consistently receive about the technical skill and cognitive acumen of our trainees.

Learn more about the General Surgery Residency program by reading our 2021 newsletter. To find additional information, the 2020 newsletter is also available here.

Key Program Personnel

Radi Zaki, MD - Chairman 
Ramsey Dallal, MD - Residency Program Director
Samantha Olafson, MD - Administrative Chief Resident
Coretta Philgence - Administrator for Surgical Training Programs