General Surgery Residency
The General Surgery Residency Program is located at Saint Mary’s Hospital, a community teaching hospital and affiliate of Yale University, in the city of Waterbuy Connecticut. Saint Mary’s is a 250-bed hospital that services a mixed population of approximately 110,000.
Conferences and Lectures
Training at Saint Mary's Hospital has a dedicated academic day every Wednesday from 7AM to 1PM.
The General Surgery Residency Program is an independent training program, graduating two Chief residents per year. Dr. J. Alexander Palesty, MD, FACS is the Program Director.
The training program in surgery is a 6-year program. Five years of the program are spent in clinical training, during which residents are able to learn the fundamentals of basic science as applied to clinical surgery. The sixth year is dedicated to bench research. Residents are exposed to pre-operative, operative as well as post-operative and non-operative care of patients in all of the components of general surgery. Each resident will grow professionally by assuming gradually increasing responsibility for patient care, commensurate with their ability, experience and developing confidence.
The program actively encourages all residents to participate in clinical research during their tenure. The year spent in research is not counted as part of the clinical experience. Scholarly activities like basic and clinical research, peer-reviewed publications and presentations at local, regional and national conferences strengthens the resident’s application for fellowship programs following completion of general surgical residency training.
Structure of the Program
| PGY Level | Rotation | Month | Hospital |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | General Surgery | 12 | Saint Mary's Hospital |
| 4 | General Surgery | 8 | Saint Mary's Hospital |
| Surgical Oncology | 3 | Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center | |
| Specialty Elective | 1 | TBD by each PGY4 Resident | |
| 3 | General Surgery | 11 | Saint Mary's Hospital |
| Thoracic Surgery | 1 | Hartford Hospital | |
| Full Time Research | Various | 12 | University of Connecticut or University of Massachusetts |
| 2 | General Surgery | 5 | Saint Mary's Hospital |
| Critical Care Unit | 5 | Saint Mary's Hospital | |
| Pediatric Surgery | 1 | Connecticut Childrens Medical Center | |
| Transplantation Surgery | 1 | Hartford Hospital | |
| 1 | General Surgery | 11 | Saint Mary's Hospital |
| Breast / Anesthesia / Lab | 1 | Saint Mary's Hospital |
What Residents Should Know About Saint Mary's Hospital
Established in 1906, Saint Mary’s Hospital is a Catholic, non-profit, 250-bed, acute care teaching hospital which is closely affiliated clinically and academically with Yale University School of Medicine and the Yale-New Haven Hospital in New Haven, Connecticut. At Saint Mary’s, we’re committed to providing a full range of integrated health care services to all 110,000 residents of Waterbury and the Central Naugatuck Valley. The Mission Statement clearly defines our commitment to the community. For more info on Saint Mary's Hospital, please refer to our About Saint Mary's Hospital section.