Learn more about the unique clinical care, curriculum and research opportunities in the U-M Medical School General Surgery Residency program, ranked #1 in the nation by Doximity.
Our program offers a comprehensive clinical care experience, an in-depth curriculum, and exceptional research opportunities.
Our program emphasizes advancing to clinical independence while cementing key technical and didactic concepts through close guidance from faculty mentors. By your fifth year as a resident, you’ll act as chief on all services, leading the team in delivering clinical care, managing administrative tasks, and educating other trainees.
A typical training pathway consists of:
- 3 years of junior clinical training
- 2 years of time for academic development, including research
- A final 2 years of senior resident clinical training
As a quaternary care center for the region, U-M's health care system offers a rare breadth of training experience with advanced specialty procedures and complex and interesting cases, as well as a high volume of “bread and butter” cases.
General surgery training requires master of a broad and deep collection of knowledge, skills, and attitudes. To develop these abilities, you’ll participate in multiple conferences to build a strong conceptual foundation that augments your self-study.
You’ll learn operative skills both in and out of the OR. Through the U-M Medical School's multidisciplinary Clinical Simulation Center, you’ll complete proficiency-based curricula for open and laparoscopic surgical skills so you’ll be optimally prepared to keep learning in the operating room.
The Michigan Promise aims to empower faculty members and residents in the Department of Surgery to achieve professional success. We support initiatives connected to environment, recruitment, leadership, achievement, innovation and outreach.
The Department of Surgery consistently ranks in the top five among surgery departments in the country for NIH funding, and you’ll find an amazing breadth and depth of research in our labs and research centers.
Our residents have also been very successful in obtaining NIH loan repayment and funding through national surgical organizations such as the American College of Surgeons. In addition to obtaining funding, U-M residents have traveled extensively to present their work at academic conferences on both a local and national level.
A unique attribute of our residency program is a protected span of 2 years to pursue research and other professional development called Academic Development Time (ADT). Most residents take this academic time after their third year of clinical training.
During your ADT, you’ll be paired with a primary mentor in your area of interest, who will also provide regular feedback. You will also have access to dedicated statistical support for resident-driven projects.
For residents interested in careers in academic surgery, this ADT period is invaluable in developing the skills in scholarship and grant preparation that you’ll need as a faculty member.
The Department of Surgery created the Michigan Promise, a commitment to supporting a diverse and inclusive environment in which all individuals can achieve success. This commitment includes a variety of professional development opportunities, including a Resident Leadership Development Program, in addition to an emphasis on wellness.
Your training ground consists of the University of Michigan medical campus, which includes an adult hospital, a children’s and women’s hospital, a cardiovascular center, multiple outpatient surgery centers and the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System. Our medical center serves nearly 27,000 inpatients per year.
One of the best parts of training at the University of Michigan is the opportunity to live in Ann Arbor. University of Michigan is widely considered the country's finest public university and this influences many aspects of life in Ann Arbor.
- Maia Anderson, MD, MS,
Next Appointment: University of Michigan
Specialty: Transplant Surgery - Ryan Eton, MD
Next Appointment: University of Michigan
Specialty: Thoracic Surgery - Ryan Howard, MD, MS
Next Appointment: University of Michigan
Specialty: Minimally Invasive Surgery - Alisha Lussiez, MD, MS
Next Appointment: Washington University in St. Louis
Specialty: Colorectal Surgery - James Melvin, MD
Next Appointment: University of Michigan
Specialty: Vascular Surgery - Sriganesh Sharma, MD, PhD
Next Appointment: University of California San Diego
Specialty: Cardiac Surgery - Valeria Valbuena, MD, MSc
Next Appointment: Northwestern University
Specialty: Transplant Surgery
- Michaela Bamdad, MD, MHS
Next Appointment: UCLA Medical Center
Specialty: Surgical Critical Care/Trauma & Emergency Surgery - Brooke Bredbeck, MD, MS
Next Appointment: Lakeland Hospital (Spectrum), MI
Specialty: General Surgery - Craig Brown, MD, MSc
Next Appointment: Michigan Medicine
Specialty: Vascular Surgery - Brian Fallon, MD
Next Appointment: Children's Hospital-Boston
Specialty: Pediatric Surgery - Michael Kemp, MD
Next Appointment: Northwestern University
Specialty: Vascular Surgery - Samantha (Sam) Rivard, MD
Next Appointment: UMass Memorial Medical Center
Specialty: Colorectal Surgery - Glenn Wakam, MD
Next Appointment: Cleveland Clinic
Specialty: Transplant Surgery
- Ben Biesterveld, MD
Next Appointment: University of Wisconsin
Specialty: Transplant Surgery - Ana De Roo, MD, MSc
Next Appointment: Washington University in St. Louis
Specialty: Colorectal Surgery - Amy Felsted, MD
Next Appointment: Dartmouth-Hitchcock
Specialty: Vascular Surgery - Marian Khalili, MD
Next Appointment: University of Southern California
Specialty: Colorectal Surgery - John (JR) Montgomery, MD
Next Appointment: New York University Langone Health
Specialty: Transplant Surgery - Ton Wang, MD
Next Appointment: Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Specialty: Breast Surgery
- Calista Harbaugh, MD, MS
Next Appointment: University of Minnesota Medical Center
Specialty: Colorectal Surgery - Charles Mouch, MD
Next Appointment: Vanderbilt University
Specialty: Transplant Surgery - Kyle Sheetz, MD, MS
Next Appointment: University of California San Francisco
Specialty: Transplant Surgery - Margaret (Meg) Smith, MD, MS
Next Appointment: Michigan Medicine
Specialty: Vascular Surgery - Joceline Vu, MD
Next Appointment: Cleveland Clinic
Specialty: Colorectal Surgery - Aaron Williams, MD
Next Appointment: Duke University
Specialty: Thoracic Surgery
- Rafael Alvarez, MD
Next Appointment: Ann Arbor VA
Specialty: Minimally Invasive Surgery - Benjamin Carr, MD
Next Appointment: Michigan Medicine
Specialty: Pediatric Surgery - Andrew Ibrahim, MD, MSc
Next Appointment: Johns Hopkins Hospital
Specialty: General Surgery - Arielle Kanters, MD, MS
Next Appointment: Cleveland Clinic
Specialty: Colorectal Surgery - Jay Lee, MD
Next Appointment: Memorial Sloan Kettering
Specialty: Surgical Oncology - Sarah Shubeck, MD, MS
Next Appointment: Memorial Sloan Kettering
Specialty: Breast Surgery
