Willis Knighton Health Program

Program Identity & Fit

Willis Knighton is a new, community-based general surgery residency embedded in a large not-for-profit health system serving the Arkansas-Louisiana-Texas (Ark-La-Tex) region, offering substantial surgical volume across cardiovascular, endocrine, oncology, hepato-pancreato-biliary, transplant, and pediatric surgery without in-house fellows competing for cases. The program explicitly emphasizes resident autonomy on complex cases as a structural advantage, backed by an Innovation Center for simulation training in minimally invasive and robotic surgery. Research is a mandatory, structured component (three projects and an annual abstract presentation per resident, with funded travel to national meetings), reflecting a stated intent to produce evidence-based surgeons rather than a research-only identity. The program explicitly supports both community/general surgical practice and academic or fellowship-track ambitions, with faculty engaged in international medical outreach, and values regional service, diversity, and community engagement per its mission.