Clinical training

As a fellow in the Colon and Rectal Surgery Fellowship at Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona, you work closely with all of the colon and rectal surgery consultants. You participate in preoperative patient evaluations, operative procedures, postoperative care, and emergency colorectal conditions.

You spend extensive time in the operating room obtaining experience in the surgical management of diseases of the colon, rectum, and anus. Minimally invasive surgery and enhanced recovery pathways are a significant part of the practice and you gain significant experience with this approach.

On non-operative days, you manage an anorectal surgery clinic with consultant supervision in addition to obtaining a multidisciplinary clinic experience. You gain extensive experience in colonoscopy, learn techniques for assessment of pelvic floor dysfunction, such as anorectal manometry, and work closely with our enterostomal therapists in the management of stomas and stoma complications.

Rotations

You complete thirteen four-week rotations with each of our colon and rectal surgery consultants, following a 1:1 mentorship model. While working one-on-one with one of our core faculty members, you will gain experience with endoscopy and diseases of the anus, colon, and rectum.

Didactic training

Clinical conferences, seminars, journal clubs, and one-on-one instruction are all an integral part of the Colon and Rectal Surgery Fellowship at Mayo Clinic.  You participate in:

• Bi-weekly, dedicated Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery educational conference that includes moderated, formally-structured, case presentations by trainees and a didactic lecture by the faculty based on the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons (ASCRS) textbook
• A cadaver-based curriculum that includes robotics, open, pelvic, and transanal minimally invasive surgery (TAMIS)
• Weekly M&M conferences, a bi-monthly journal club, and related pathology and radiology studies including tumor board

Call frequency

The in-house call system is maintained by the General Surgery Residency. Colon and rectal surgery fellows are not assigned in-house call.

Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science follows the recommendations of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).

Research

You will have access to CRS-specific textbooks and videos. In addition, the program provides resources including a research analyst, masters level biostatistician, and faculty mentoring support for research projects approved by the program director. The faculty are all research-focused. You will collaborate with faculty on research publications, presentations, and projects throughout training.

Additional training opportunities

You teach by giving formal didactic lectures during the Wednesday morning Colon and Rectal Surgery Conference and the combined Inflammatory Bowel Disease Conference and Colon and Rectal Surgery Conference.

You engage in daily teaching on rounds, in the operating room, and in the clinic with general surgery residents and medical students. You also give formal didactic lectures to allied health staff throughout the year.

Additionally, you participate in educational activities in the general surgery training program in the simulation center, and in cadaver and animal labs.

Moonlighting is not permitted.

Evaluation

To ensure that you acquire adequate knowledge and develop the appropriate technical skills to meet program expectations, your performance is monitored carefully during the Colon and Rectal Surgery Fellowship. You are formally evaluated by supervising faculty members on a regular basis and meet with the program director to review these evaluations.

You are evaluated in a 360-degree format by patients, ancillary staff, and consultant colon and rectal surgeons. In addition, you regularly evaluate the faculty to confirm that your educational goals are being met.