Acting Chairman
I am pleased to welcome you to the webpage of the Department of Surgery at the University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus.
The Department of Surgery was founded in 1950. Over the years, our faculty has educated many medical students and residents in the art and science of surgery and its sub-specialties. Each year, our Surgical Residency Program graduates five categorical residents. The graduates from our general surgery program have been very successful in Puerto Rico and the United States. Ideal candidates will demonstrate academic excellence, willingness to seek challenges, and the desire to engage within our faculty through hard work and intellectual challenges. We expect our graduates to apply their knowledge to better serve the community. Our preliminary residency program offers a robust curriculum.
Our Surgical Department is committed to providing a comprehensive surgical education in which our surgical residents are exposed to the complexity of today’s health system, as well as moral and ethical issues. We intend to encourage intellectual leadership by promoting the following essential qualities:
- Academic excellence: We strive to provide the tools to generate Board-Certified surgeons and self-education.
- Humanitarianism: We need sensitive healthcare workers who empathize with patients and their relatives. Community service is encouraged through participation in health prevention and being of service in sponsored programs directed toward the community. Our residents participate in local and international American College of Surgeons meetings, cancer prevention efforts, and the Raffucci Research Forum.
- Surgical and Clinical Skills: Our program provides exposure to many clinical scenarios and settings at different hospitals and access to our Experimental Laboratory to pursue this need.
- Research: This is a crucial tool to understand the sources and methods from which knowledge is derived. Our Experimental Laboratory at the Medical School is an excellent resource tool for this goal. The Trauma and Critical Care, Pediatric, Plastic, Endocrine, Vascular, and Transplant services constantly develop research projects while are published and presented in local and international meetings.
- Innovation in the Surgical Sciences.
In addition to educating medical students and surgical residents, we have set mentorship programs for outstanding students from high school to university level.
Pablo Rodríguez Ortiz, MD, FACS, FCCM, FACP, FCCP
Acting Chairman