Clinical training

During Mayo Clinic's International Colon and Rectal Surgery Fellowship, you work closely with Mayo Clinic's 12 colon and rectal surgeons. You participate in elective preoperative patient evaluations, operative procedures, postoperative care and emergency colorectal conditions.

Every other day is spent in the operating room getting experience in 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 nonoperative days, you run a daily anorectal surgery clinic with your faculty mentor. You gain experience in complex colonoscopy, learn techniques for assessment of pelvic floor dysfunction, such as anorectal manometry, and work closely with our enterostomal therapists in management of stomas and stoma complications.

Rotation schedule

You complete a six-week rotation with each of our 12 faculty members. During each of these rotations, you are involved in preoperative and postoperative care and operate with the faculty surgeons. You also participate in emergency call on a rotating basis.

Nonoperative days are spent in the anorectal surgery clinic with faculty, performing complex colonoscopy and learning techniques for assessment of pelvic floor dysfunction.

Call frequency

A night float call system, as well as an ER call schedule, is structured to include both senior general surgery and colon and rectal residents. In a typical rotation, residents are on call 1 in every 4 nights and one weekend a month.

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

Research training

A structured research orientation takes place upon your arrival to present you with opportunities to pursue both clinical and basic research at Mayo Clinic. We have tremendous resources, including extensive procedural databases, statisticians and available funding. You are encouraged to pursue one or more projects, submit an abstract to a national or international meeting, and publish in highly recognized surgical journals.

Didactic training

Clinical conferences, seminars, journal clubs and one-on-one instruction are all integral parts of Mayo Clinic's International Colon and Rectal Surgery Fellowship.

You participate in:

• A 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, transanal minimally invasive surgery (TAMIS) and transanal total mesorectal excision (TaTME) skills
• A bimonthly combined Inflammatory Bowel Disease Conference and Colon and Rectal Surgery Conference that includes case presentations by trainees and didactic lectures by faculty
• A bimonthly Colon and Rectal Surgery Multidisciplinary Tumor Board
• A weekly seminar series in surgery that is sponsored by the Department of General Surgery and attended by trainees and faculty members
• A biannual visiting faculty program that features national and world leaders in colon and rectal surgery
• Journal club is held eight times a year, each one hosted by faculty
• An extensive schedule of optional didactic conferences in many surgical and medical subspecialties and basic sciences

Conferences

• Weekly colon and rectal surgery educational conference
• Monthly journal club hosted by each faculty member
• Morbidity and mortality conference once every four weeks
• Bimonthly combined Inflammatory Bowel Disease Conference and Colon and Rectal Surgery Conference
• Bimonthly Colon and Rectal Surgery Multidisciplinary Tumor Board
• Other education activities are scheduled throughout the year

Teaching opportunities

You teach by giving formal didactic lectures during the Monday 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.

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 International 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 by patients, and faculty members evaluate your participation in journal club and case presentations at conferences. In addition, you regularly evaluate the faculty to confirm that your educational needs are being met.