Our general surgery program has a strong tradition of training excellent surgeons. The clinical volume is among the highest of all the programs in Canada. All the surgeons in the city are committed to teaching, and this is reflected in the excellent training our residents receive. There are few programs in North America with such high clinical volumes, research opportunities and dedicated teachers.

There are many subspecialists teaching in our program. Residents will be exposed to all the subspecialty areas of general surgery during their training. If there is any area in which a resident would like to spend more time, there are opportunities available during elective rotations to explore these interests. U of A has faculty members with specialty training in liver transplantation, hepatobiliary surgery, colorectal surgery, endocrine surgery, head and neck surgery, trauma, critical care, surgical oncology, global surgery, minimally invasive surgery (MIS) and bariatric surgery. Residents also rotate through services dedicated to vascular surgery and thoracic surgery.

There are elective opportunities in the third and fourth years that can be used to explore any specific areas of interest.

Each resident is required to present at the annual research day at least three times during the course of their residency. This research is presented at a General Surgery Research Day each spring. Residents are encouraged to enter an MSc or PhD program if they have a strong interest in research.