Program FAQs

How do I apply to the traditional three-year residency program?

All applications must be submitted online through ERAS. We will not accept any additional supporting documents by mail. 

When is the start of residency?

August 1 of each academic year.

How long is the residency program?

The total length of the residency program is three (3) years.

How can I apply for the fast-track 4/3 program?

Only current UCSF categorical general surgery residents in good standing are eligible to apply for the Fast Track 4/3 program. Both cardiac-track as well as thoracic-track residents are encouraged to apply. Interested residents should contact our program coordinator approximately two years before they start their fourth clinical year. Typically, this is during the first half of their first research year.

What kind of training exposure can I expect?

Residents will gain diverse clinical training in all areas of adult cardiac, general thoracic, and pediatric cardiac surgery at three hospitals: UC Parnassus, UC Mission Bay, and Kaiser San Francisco.

• On adult cardiac surgery rotations, residents will gain experience in coronary bypass, valve surgery, minimally invasive procedures, off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), aortic surgery, arrhythmia surgery, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), ventricular assist devices (VADs), and heart transplantation. In addition, the resident is exposed to hybrid management schemes involving operating room and catheterization lab techniques (TAVR, aortic stenting, etc). Residents also have the opportunity to gain experience in the cardiac catheterization lab and echocardiography lab.
  
   
• On general thoracic surgery rotations, residents will gain experience in open, video-assisted and robotic-assisted thoracoscopic lung and mediastinal resections, airway resection and reconstruction, esophageal foregut procedures, esophagectomies, esophageal dilation/stenting, and lung transplantation. In addition, residents learn interventional pulmonary skills including interventional bronchoscopy, endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS), electromagnetic navigation (EMN)-guided bronchoscopy, rigid bronchoscopy, and airway stenting. Residents also have the opportunity to gain experience in the pulmonary function lab and esophageal manometry lab.
  
   
• On pediatric cardiac surgery rotations, residents will gain experience in surgical management of congenital cardiac conditions including congenital anomalies of the cardiac chambers, great vessels, aorta, and pulmonary veins. Residents also have the opportunity to gain experience in the cardiac catheterization lab and echocardiography lab.