Medical College of Wisconsin Affiliated Hospitals Program

Program Identity & Fit

MCW's General Surgery Residency is an academic, quaternary-referral program that explicitly pairs complex, tertiary/quaternary surgical care with a mission to serve local underserved Milwaukee populations, reflecting a dual community-safety-net and academic-referral identity. The program embeds dedicated PGY-III/IV research years (with residents holding NIH T32 and R38 awards and named research scholarships), signaling that structured, often federally-funded, research is a core developmental component rather than an elective add-on. A distinctive named RURAL track and a two-year Global Health Scholars pathway (with rotations in Kenya, Nepal, Haiti, Ethiopia, and Cuba) demonstrate intentional design for residents pursuing rural surgical practice or global surgery careers alongside traditional fellowship-bound trainees. The program draws residents from a wide range of US MD and DO schools and appears to value applicants who bring varied backgrounds, career aspirations, leadership, and demonstrated academic productivity.