linked in pixel Ochsner Education

The educational program is well organized and provides a framework for study throughout the resident's training period.

  • Morbidity & Mortality Conference is held every Wednesday morning from 6:30 a.m.- 7:30 a.m.
  • Grand Rounds and SCORE Conferences are from 7:30 a.m.-9:00 a.m. on Wednesdays following M&M. These Wednesday morning conferences are protected time.
  • Additional Conferences attended by residents on service include:
    • Multidisciplinary GI Surgical Oncology Tumor Board – Mondays 12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m.
    • Multidisciplinary Breast Conference – Tuesday mornings from 7:00 a.m.-8:00 a.m.
    • Multidisciplinary Thoracic Oncology Conference – Wednesdays 12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m.
    • Monthly Endocrine Tumor Tumor Conference – Tuesday 12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m.
    • Monthly Multidisciplinary Swallowing Disorders Conference – Tuesday 7:00 a.m.-8:00 a.m.
    • Various Vascular Surgery Educational Conferences
    • Transplant M&M and Case Presentations
    • Colorectal Surgery M&M
  • Graduate Medical Education offers a lecture series with a focus on topics applicable to residents from all departments once a month from 12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m.
  • Mock oral scenarios are administered for PGY-5 residents toward the end of the academic year.
    • Casual mock oral scenarios are administered for all level residents throughout the academic year during Wednesday morning conference, with a focus on the PGY-4’s and PGY-5’s.
    • A formal mock oral session is held for PGY-5 residents across the city’s residency programs in the spring of their chief year.
  • The General Surgery departments hosts between 8-10 Visiting Professors for Grand Rounds lectures each academic year. The residents will engage in case presentations from 2:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m. the day prior.

Successful advancement to each postgraduate level is based on several factors. Residents are required to demonstrate sound surgical judgment in providing pre- and postoperative care, as well as demonstrate satisfactory progress in acquiring the technical skills necessary to provide high-quality surgical care.

All faculty complete formal evaluation of resident performance at the end of each rotation through the New Innovations platform. Residents and faculty are expected to complete SIMPL App assessments in real-time for EPAs throughout training. Residents are provided formal feedback by the program director twice per year, in which overall strengths and weaknesses are addressed and remedial action, if needed, is discussed. Residents submit anonymous evaluations for each faculty member in order to provide meaningful feedback that serves to maximize the educational efforts by the staff.

All residents are required to take the annual surgical in-training examination (ABSITE) as an objective method to assess each trainee's fund of knowledge. Residents whose standard score corresponds with >10% risk of failing the QE will be placed on a 6-month reading and study plan tailored to the individual’s areas of weakness during July-December of the following academic year.