UCLA RESIDENCY PROGRAM IN GENERAL SURGERY

POLICY AND PROCEDURES

DATE: October 4, 1999

SUBJECT: TRAINEE ELIGIBILITY AND SELECTION

PURPOSE: To define eligibility criteria for the selection of trainees for enrollment in the Core Surgical Training and General Surgery Residency Programs.

POLICY:

  1. Eligibility

To be eligible to enroll in the Core Surgical Training or General Surgery Residency Programs, applicants must fulfill the following criteria:

  1. A diplomate of a medical school in the United States or Canada which has been accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) or;
  2. A graduate of a college of osteopathic medicine in the United States accredited by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA).
  3. Graduates of medical schools located outside of the United States or Canada must obtain certification from the Education Council for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) and a letter of evaluation from the Medical Board of California indicating that they are eligible to participate in postgraduate training.
  4. Near eligible to obtain medical licensure in the State of California by virtue of successful completion of the United States Medical Licensing Examination, Parts I and II, by the first day that postgraduate training is to begin.
  1. Selection
  1. The selection of trainees for first-year training positions will be made via participation in the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP).
  2. Applicants will submit, via written or electronic communication, the following information, which will form the basis for selection:
  1. Curriculum vitae
  2. Medical school transcript
  3. Letter of recommendation from the Dean, or his designee, of the applicant’s medical school
  4. Letters of recommendation from a maximum of four (4) faculty members of the applicant’s medical school. Two (2) letters must be from faculty members with clinical responsibilities and appointment to a department of surgery or a surgical subspecialty.
  5. Examination scores from the USMLE, Part I, and, if available, Part II at the time of application.
  6. Personal statement demonstrating appropriate written communication skills.
  7. 2 X 2 inch color photograph of the applicant (to include head and shoulders only).
  1. A preliminary selection committee, comprised of the Directors of the Core Surgical and General Surgery Training Programs, the Chief of the Division of General Surgery, and the Director of the Office of Surgical Education will select applicants who will be offered an opportunity for a personal interview.
  2. Applicants granted a personal interview will select from a number of scheduled dates allotted for conducting applicant interviews. In general, no interviews will be conducted outside of the scheduled dates unless unusual circumstances prevail.
  3. Each applicant will be separately interviewed by three (3) General Surgery faculty members. Each interview will be allotted twenty (20) minutes apiece.
  4. In the setting of the interview, faculty members will refrain from discussing an applicant’s age, race, sex, religion, sexual orientation or marital status.
  5. Group discussion and rank ordering of applicants will be performed following the final date of interviews.
  6. The discussion group will consist of the General Surgery faculty members of the Program.

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