A Message for Military Medical Students
Are you interested in a career in surgery? We invite you to consider what is available at Wright-Patterson Medical Center. We think our program is one of the best-kept secrets in Air Force Graduate Medical Education. And once you hear what we have to offer, we think you'll agree.
Wright-Patterson is partnered with every major hospital in the Dayton area to form the Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine (WSU BSOM) Integrated General Surgery Residency Program. The other member hospitals are Miami Valley Hospital (a Level I trauma center), Kettering Medical Center, Dayton Children's Hospital (a pediatric trauma center) and the Dayton VA Medical Center. Each facility brings a different perspective to the residency and you will rotate at each site. This integrated design to our training exposes our residents to a great variety of clinical approaches to surgical care, including all major sub-specialties, robotic surgery and trauma.
Also, unlike other military training programs, you can receive all of your training here in Dayton. There is no need for you to travel somewhere else to get any of your required experiences. Of course, if you want to take an elective rotation elsewhere to get additional experience in an area of particular interest, it can be arranged.
Our residents have scored as high as 98 percent on the annual in service exam and our "first time pass rate" for both American Board of Surgery examinations combined is >85 percent, well above the national average.
Our graduates are highly competitive. We have sent graduates on to fellowships in many specialties, including trauma/acute care surgery, cardiothoracic surgery, plastic surgery, colorectal surgery and vascular surgery. In fact, every one of our graduates who has applied for a fellowship within the last few years has been successful in gaining a training slot and match into one of their top choices.
What if you're interested in research? Although we do not have a mandatory research year, if you are interested in completing a dedicated year of research, the JSGMESB has granted us the option for a resident to take a research year after their PGY2 year. Even if you do not want to take a dedicated research year, since we are part of a major civilian academic university, there are always a number of ongoing projects that you can get involved with during your training. Almost all of our residents finish their training with multiple presentations at national conferences as well as at least one or two published manuscripts.
We're in Southwest Ohio, about halfway between Cincinnati and Columbus. We don't have beaches or mountains, but it is a great place to raise a family and there is plenty to do in the immediate area. Plus you will get to truly experience all 4 seasons! Within the local area, Dayton has 2 amusement parks (Kings Island and Cedar Point), professional sports teams (Cincinnati and Cleveland teams), outdoor recreational areas, and almost monthly cultural/community events. There is always something going on to help de-stress. And even though you'll be in training in a highly demanding profession, you're still likely to have some free time to enjoy it all. Our program's goal is to train you to be an independent surgeon, not kill you with "scut" work, and make sure you have time to enjoy your time in Dayton as well!
Additional information is available through this site and on the Wright-Patterson Medical Center web site.
If any (or all) of this sounds appealing to you, we would love to hear from you. With that, we would love to meet you even more. If you would like to come rotate with us, we will be more than happy to help arrange a rotation. If you are not able to arrange a formal rotation with us, we can work with your schedule to have you spend a day or two with our staff and residents to allow you a better feel for the program. How you feel about a program is just as important as your interview and therefore we want you to have a chance to interact with our staff and residents as much as possible during your time.
Remember, interested residency applicants must also be accepted by the WSU Boonshoft School of Medicine Department of Surgery as well as the military GME Selection Board. Therefore when you interview with our program, you will also be interviewing with their program. Our military residents work hand and hand with the civilian residents and we want to make sure that you are a fit with each side.
If you have any questions or would like to visit us, please do not hesitate to contact me (douglas.r.thompson.civ@health.mil). I look forward to hearing from you and working with you in the future!
Sincerely,
Andrew D. Galusha, Maj., USAF, MC
Associate Program Director
WSU General Surgery Residency Program
88th Surgical Operations Squadron/SGCQ
4881 Sugar Maple Drive
Wright-Patterson AFB OH 45433-5529
(937) 257-9514 or DSN 787-9514
