Surgical critical care.

e c e c o begin a fellowship in surgical critical care, residents ust have completed at least 3 years of a general surgery esidency and have a guaranteed, categorical, surgical spot n which to complete their last years of general surgery raining. However, the majority of fellows choose to comlete their entire general surgery residency before beginning fellowship. This order of training is recommended because he success rate in passing the certifying examination in urgical critical care is much higher for those who have ompleted their general surgery residency program before ntering a fellowship. This may change with the recent uling that the examination may be taken after the fellowhip year, even if the fellow has not completed training in eneral surgery. There are 84 accredited programs in surgical critical are, with 136 positions filled for the 2005 to 2006 academic ear. Some programs focus primarily on critically ill peditric patients, but most fellows spend the majority of their ime caring for adult patients, with minimal exposure to ediatric surgical patients. Fellows are able to sit for the ertifying examination if they complete an accredited felowship regardless of which age group they have had the reatest exposure to; however, the examination is weighted uch more heavily to adult clinical practice. A match was begun in 2004, in which a majority of urgical critical care programs participated. More fellowhip positions are available than are interested applicants so he likelihood of finding a position is good. Surgical critical are is a specialty match conducted by the National Resient Matching Program, in which candidates apply directly o the residency program that interests them. Registration hrough the match begins in August, and match day is at the nd of November. Research experience is not required, although many aplying for competitive fellowships have completed at least 1 ear of research. A commitment to care of the critically njured patient and letters of recommendation are very imortant. Lists of fellowships are both on the Eastern Association or the Surgery of Trauma (EAST) (www.east.org) and the