New York Presbyterian Hospital Columbia Campus Program

Program Identity & Fit

Columbia's General Surgery Residency is a flagship academic, university-based program embedded in one of the nation's oldest and most historically significant surgical departments, with tertiary/quaternary subspecialty depth spanning transplantation (liver, kidney/pancreas), cardiothoracic surgery, robotic surgery, and complex GI/oncologic disease. The program is defined by an operative caseload well above the national average, substantial senior resident autonomy in and out of the OR, and a flexible, individualized approach to dedicated research time that residents pursue after PGY3, including internally funded protected research years, NIH T32 training grants, and fully funded non-laboratory fellowships (surgical education, ECMO, critical care). Research infrastructure is extensive and cross-divisional, spanning basic/translational immunology and transplant tolerance labs to the Center for Innovation and Outcomes Research and a large Transplant Clinical Research Center, reflecting a program that produces graduates entering competitive subspecialty fellowships (transplant, cardiothoracic, surgical oncology, colorectal). The program appears to value residents who can thrive with autonomy, engage seriously with academic scholarship when desired, and contribute to a collegial resident-faculty culture in a high-acuity, high-volume urban academic environment.