MercyOne Des Moines-PHC Consortium Program

Program Identity & Fit

MercyOne Des Moines is a community-based tertiary referral program that fields high case volumes (>7,000 general surgery cases and >20,000 total surgical procedures annually) without any competing in-house fellowships, meaning residents retain the full breadth of subspecialty operative cases in vascular, colorectal, surgical oncology, breast, and trauma. The curriculum is structured around in-house rotations across nearly all specialties, supplemented by two dedicated away rotations (burn at University of Iowa, transplant at University of Nebraska), and chief resident case numbers substantially exceed ABS minimums across nearly every category. Research is described as "available" rather than embedded as a core identity, while the program explicitly states it prepares graduates for both immediate community practice and competitive fellowship placement. The program values steady clinical volume, graduated autonomy, and resident teaching responsibility (via adjunct faculty appointments at Des Moines University), fitting a trainee oriented toward high-volume general surgical training rather than a heavily protected research track.