Surgical Critical Care, Trauma & Burn

The Surgical Critical Care, Trauma & Burn Fellowship is a well-established educational program offering exceptional training in trauma, surgical critical care and burn.

With unparalleled clinical exposure, independence, and a formal educational curriculum, graduates are highly marketable and prepared for future independent practice. 

The Trauma Unit at John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County is America’s first comprehensive center dedicated solely to the care of the acutely injured patient. Since 1966, the unit has served as a national model for trauma care. The Cook County Trauma Unit is one of the busiest in the country with more than 5,000 admissions, of which 30% are penetrating injuries. Experienced trauma surgeons manage all aspects of trauma care from initial presentation until discharge. The trauma center has a self-contained 15 bed resuscitation area, 12 bed Trauma ICU, 10 bed step-down unit, as well as ward beds. 

The Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) is a 14 bed unit for patients from the General Surgery, Cardiothoracic, Vascular, ENT, Plastics, Urology, and Obstetrics-Gynecology services. The SICU treats more than 450 admissions per year. The unit is well staffed with a multi-disciplinary team, including dedicated clinical pharmacists and dietitians.

The Cook County Burn Unit, an American Burn Association verified center, has experienced staff operating within a 6 bed ICU, a 10-bed step-down unit and a dedicated ward. The Burn center has a rich history of excellence in Cook County, treating nearly 400 major burns and performing more than 1,000 burn evaluations per year. Trainees gain experience managing all aspects of burn care in adults and pediatric patient populations from initial resuscitation to complex reconstruction. 

Visit the Cook County Trauma website for more information.  

Applications

Applicants must have completed an accredited General Surgery Residency program by the time of fellowship. 
Our program will use SAFAS for fellowship applications: 
If there are any problems or questions with your SAFAS application, please contact SAFAS and our Program Coordinator, Maire Leahy. 

Rotations

During the first year, the fellowship program includes 13 four-week rotations divided between SICU, Burn, Trauma, and electives.
Beyond the core rotations, trainees are encouraged to focus their skills in areas of interest or future employment. Electives can be taken in the Pediatric ICU, Transplant Surgery (at Rush University Medical Center), Neuroscience ICU (at Rush University Medical Center), Anesthesia, Medical ICU, or Cardiac Surgery ICU (at University of Chicago). Protected research time is also possible. Fellows are mentored by full-time board-certified Attending Surgical Critical Care Intensivists. Unique to this program is a high level of independence as trainees progress through the program. Fellows are an integral component of the SICU team, and play an important role in the supervision and training of residents and medical students from various institutions around the Chicago area. The formal academic curriculum involves informal multi-specialty discussions, journal club, board review, as well as scheduled M&M sessions. 
The optional second year of fellowship is designed for exceptional training in advanced trauma operative management and burn care. The second year is highly customizable depending on the needs and career path of each trainee. Trainees are fully prepared for leadership employment positions with comprehensive exposure to injury prevention, trauma systems planning, education of pre-hospital personnel, resuscitation, rehabilitation, and registry functions. All trainees are offered ATLS, ABLS, as well as ASSET courses with the expectation to become instructors. Fellows are encouraged to participate in national trauma organizations such as EAST and AAST.  Although the second year is geared for trauma training, fellows can be eligible to receive special certifications in burn surgery with focused training. Regardless of the area of focus, the fellowship program at Cook County offers exceptional training to the future leaders in Trauma and Surgical Critical Care. 

Research Experience 

A research project is highly encouraged starting in the first year for presentation or publication in the second year.

Program Contact

Maire Leahy, MHA
Program Coordinator
(312) 864-0395
Email

Daniel J. Kacey, MD, FACS
Program Director, Surgical Critical Care Fellowship
Email


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