Jackson Memorial Hospital (JMH), located at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center), is one of the largest teaching general health care facilities in the Southeastern United States, and a major, well-recognized urban public hospital. All patients are available for teaching purposes and are cared for under the supervision of Jackson’s medical staff, most of whom hold appointments at the UM Miller School of Medicine. Jackson Memorial Hospital also has affiliation agreements with the Veterans Administration Medical Center, the University of Miami affiliated hospitals, and several private hospitals for the purpose of broadening the range of experience of resident physicians.
The Surgical Service of JMH is closely affiliated with the Medical School and actively participates in student education. This consists of lectures, service conferences and testing. A member of the Department of Surgery is specifically assigned to coordinate student education in surgery.
Residents are responsible for the conduct of most conferences as well as clinical instruction to their juniors. Although they do not participate in didactic student lectures, they are actively involved in ward instruction.
In addition to its mission of providing the best possible patient care, the medical center is also involved in research and education. It contributes to the goal of ensuring future health care excellence through training physicians, nurses and other health care professionals. The medical center is home to the UM School of Nursing, plus other accredited programs.
Finding cures for disease and advancing biomedical knowledge is also a major objective. Currently the UM and JMH are involved in more than 800 research projects and received over $90 million in grants this past year. Projects range from spinal cord regeneration, new cancer treatment modalities, genetic screenings, in-vitro fertilization to trauma care and islet cell transplantation.
Alan S.
Livingstone, M.D., Chief
Danny Sleeman, M.D., Program Director
The Training Program in General Surgery is an established and fully accredited non-pyramidal five-year program. Six chief residents are graduated annually. In addition to providing training in general surgery, training in the basic surgical skills is provided for those residents diverting into various surgical specialties.
Four hospitals are utilized: Jackson Memorial (JMH); The Veterans Administration Medical Center (VA); Mount Sinai; Hollywood Memorial; and Miami Children’s. Jackson Memorial is the sponsor and the primary teaching hospital. The VA is an integrated institution while all others are affiliated. The teaching faculty at Jackson Memorial and the VA all have clinical appointments at those institutions and most have appointments in the Department of Surgery at the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine. A director of surgical education is appointed at each affiliated institution. The teaching faculty at all affiliated institutions have teaching appointments at those institutions and most have clinical appointments in the Department of Surgery at the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine.
The goal of this program is to provide training in the field of general surgery for those entering that specialty and in the basic surgical skills for those residents diverting into the various specialties.
For the purpose of instruction, the program has been divided into educational units (services). Each unit must provide experience in pre and post operative care which includes the development and staffing of appropriate clinics. A senior resident is assigned to each service and is responsible for all-patient care and administrative activities. At JMH and the VA his/her activities are supervised by a group of full time JMH or VA faculty members, one of whom is appointed chief of service. At these institutions, each service has developed areas of specific interest and expertise and patients with these specific problems are admitted to the appropriate service on the basis of the disease process.
A curriculum has been developed that covers those problems presently considered a part of general surgery as outlined by the ACGME’s six competencies, and for the purpose of instruction, each subject is assigned to a service where the topic coincides with the expertise of the service. Methods which assure adequate instruction in the various topics are in place and assure resident participation in its preoperative and post operative care of all patients. One day a week is reserved for clinic care. Research is formally incorporated into the program and presently two residents rotate through various research facilities, both local and remote, for varying periods following their second year.
Each resident will perform approximately 1200 major operations of a variety consistent with the requirements of the American Board of Surgery and the Residency Review committee for General Surgery.
A systematic method for evaluation of each resident, using those methods suggested by the ACGME is in place, as are methods for evaluation and improvement of the educational program. This includes input (participation) from the teaching faculty and residents.
Complimenting this service instruction is a group of conferences and technical labs. Included are a weekly mortality and morbidity conference and a series of basic science conferences.