More than 50,000 operations a year are performed at Mayo Clinic with a voluminous range of cases. Teamwork is a hallmark at Mayo, along with access to specialists in virtually any area of medicine. The lifestyle and work-life balance are exceptional, offering you an opportune environment to cultivate both your professional and personal interests.

Mayo Clinic offers numerous educational opportunities throughout your General Surgery Residency and extends into a number of fellowship programs. There is a widespread didactic experience and heavy simulation experience, particularly in the early years of training.

Designed to educate the leaders of tomorrow, we use our history as a blueprint and continue to follow the principles that have guided us since our inception more than 150 years ago. We are driven by science, energized by education, and relentlessly focused on patient care.

From common to complex, our residents do more and have access to more. They interact with diverse patient populations with a broad spectrum of medical conditions in multiple care settings.

From the program director

Welcome to the Mayo Clinic General Surgery Residency. We have an outstanding accredited five-year residency training program at one of the premier medical centers in the United States.

The Mayo Clinic General Surgery Residency offers a broad experience in general surgery and its subspecialties. Graduates are well-prepared to enter private practice, academic practice, or go on to subspecialty fellowship training at the end of their time here. Residents get a wealth of clinical experience in addition to an incredible depth of research endeavors.

Our educational program focuses on creating the "whole surgeon." We expect our graduates to be technically outstanding while also incredibly astute clinical decision-makers. Our education program is robust and is known for its preceptorship concept, which many of the General Surgery services run upon. You have the opportunity to work one-on-one with some of the world's best surgeons.

You are invited to read what our current residents are saying about our program. By hearing what those experienced residents have to say, you will gain an appreciation of the depth and breadth of our training program.

We encourage you to look into the incredible wealth of experiences offered by our program.

Mariela Rivera, M.D.
General Surgery Residency Program Director

Program faculty 

Our faculty members are leading physicians and researchers working on the greatest medical challenges of our time. They are passionate teachers, committed to providing mentorship and guidance through every training step to ensure your success.

Our current faculty has published over 300 papers a year and lectured extensively on over 200 presentations a year. They are recognized leaders in their fields and you will have direct access to these individuals throughout your training program.

Visiting professors

Many prominent surgeons and surgical professors visit Mayo each year. They present their work during lectures and participate in hospital rounds. You are encouraged to interact with these engaging visitors during rounds, meals, or sit-down sessions.