With the advent of summer, we congratulated and said farewell to departing fellows and residents, and welcomed the new arrivals. The Department of Surgery now has four residency and ten fellowship training programs, with 80+ trainees. Our department has seen tremendous growth in the past decade, along with the addition of new requirements for student, resident and fellow education. A new position of Vice Chair of Education was created to improve the educational experiences across all programs, establish new collaborations, and share resources and expertise to the fullest extent possible.

In my new role as Vice Chair, my main goal will be to integrate the educational efforts of all of our divisions to ensure coordination of our departmental educational activities and the efficient use of our resources. My first duty will be to meet with representatives from each division and program to better understand their goals and needs. We hope to break down the traditional silos between UME, GME, and CME to improve learner transition from one segment of their medical education to the next. We'll also be looking at faculty development-how can we help faculty become better teachers? Additionally, Dr. Girma Tefera, our Vice Chair for Global Surgery, will be able to help us expand our Global Health partnerships, and the potential educational opportunities those partnerships will afford our trainees and faculty.

This new structure will make it easier for everyone to access the unique resources in the department to further their educational missions. As I take on this new position, I am pleased to announce that Dr. Jacob Greenberg will take the helm as General Surgery Residency Program Director.