Penn State General Surgery Residency provides comprehensive experience in general surgery. Our focus is to provide in-depth education on the fundamentals of basic science applied to clinical surgery. We provide outstanding experience with both routine and complex general surgery.

Our hospital is in a rural area but has quaternary services providing exposure to many complex operations. Our aim is to develop leaders in the practice of clinical and academic surgery.

Penn State offers a position to one military resident per year. The residency provides a broad exposure to general surgery with rotations at our affiliated community hospitals increasing the volume of general surgery cases while providing exposure to quaternary and more complex cases at the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.

The military residents will rotate for one month on a burn rotation at Jefferson Medical Center in Philadelphia. The residents are exposed to 20 weeks of trauma rotations plus 12 weeks of SICU rotation.

We have a night coverage system which eliminates most 24 hr shifts providing exposure to trauma (in addition to dedicated trauma rotations) as well as emergency general surgery an all surgery subspecialties. Penn State has multiple faculty members who served in the military from the Navy, Army, and Air Force who serve as mentors to the military residents.

For additional program-specific information, including clinical rotations/schedules, curriculum, and research opportunities, please visit Penn State General Surgery residency.

To request an interview, please e-mail the General Surgery Program Coordinator and include the following information:

• Name, military service, and scholarship program (HPSP, HSCP, USU, or currently on active duty as physician), e-mail address, and phone number
• Curriculum Vitae
• Personal Statement/Letter of Intent (may use the same statement in your graduate medicine education application packet)
• Self-report of USMLE/COMLEX scores
  • Include the number of attempts and whether or not you have failed any attempts
  • If USMLE/COMLEX step/level 2 scores are not available, please provide the exam date, if scheduled
• Self-report of any failed courses or clinical rotations during medical school