One of the core missions of the Department of Surgery at the University of Michigan is training the future leaders in surgery. As part of this mission, we have designed a leadership training program for students applying for surgical residency.
We hope to share with students our larger vision of surgical leadership and provide guidance on the surgical residency application process. We aim to encourage medical students to pursue academic surgery and prepare them for the application and match process.
Over 25 faculty, house officers and medical students from across the country participate in this event to facilitate a personalized experience for each participant. The event also offers students the opportunity to network with peers from across the country who are also interested in pursuing a career in surgery, fostering friendships as students begin their careers in surgery.
Our goal is to facilitate and motivate medical students to becoming the future leaders in surgery. The role of the academic surgeon is ever evolving, and successful academic surgeons in the future will need to take on roles as innovators, surgeon-scientists, leaders, activists, and teachers, in addition to their roles as top-notch surgeons in the operating room. The Student Surgery Leadership Weekend introduces students to some of the different facets of surgery through its events, including a design thinking workshop, diversity, equity, and inclusion discussions, presentations discussing local and global surgery outreach initiatives, and simulation center sessions to practice surgical techniques.
The next Student Surgery Leadership Weekend will be held June 2-4, 2023.