Prospective Residents
Interested in applying to the General Surgery residency program at the KU School of Medicine? Learn about the application process here.
Applicant Information
A message from the current chief class:
Thank you for your interest in The University of Kansas Medical Center's general surgery residency program! Over the last several years our program has grown into a premier training opportunity for surgical residents. As this year’s chief class, let us share with you some of the many reasons we think you should consider coming to train with us.
We offer a very diverse surgical training experience at several locations. Most of our training happens at the University of Kansas Medical Center's main campus - a quaternary referral center and hands down the largest and busiest hospital system between Denver and St. Louis. Here we have a high volume, high acuity experience caring for the most complex surgical patients in the region. This experience is balanced by excellent rotations at community and rural hospitals, outpatient surgery centers, and even internationally in Malawi, Africa.
We offer an individualized research program where residents can spend 1-2 years of dedicated research time or complete a minimum research rotation depending on their interests and career goals. Within our system, we have extensive exposure to all the surgical subspecialties. Recent graduates of this program have had incredible success in matching into the foremost fellowship programs of their choice, including: pediatric surgery, surgical oncology, cardiothoracic surgery, transplant surgery, vascular surgery, surgical critical care, colorectal surgery, and breast surgical oncology. Several of our recent graduates have also stepped right into busy general surgery practices without fellowship training; this is an attestation of how prepared they were to operate independently after graduating from this program.
We feel our surgical training here at KU is on par with any academic center in the country, yet we still maintain a collegial, down-to-earth, and family-friendly culture. We have a fun and diverse mix of residents including single, newlyweds, and residents with young families; all of which are strongly supported by our program and faculty.
Everyone here is proud to serve Kansas City, the states of Kansas and Missouri, and the entire region. Kansas City is an affordable, safe, beautiful, and easy place to live. Thank you again for your interest and time. Please contact any one of us with questions and we hope to see you soon!
Chief Residents
Left to right: Babak Mohammadian, D.O., Quinn Nix, M.D., Brian Cummiskey, M.D., Patrick Chizek, D.O.
Get to know the KU General Surgery Team
Meet the Program Director and residents
Chief Residents
Department of Surgery Faculty and Residents
Sessions are from 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. (CT) on the following days:
- Wednesday, September 20th
- Tuesday, September 26th
- Thursday, October 5th
Please sign up for only one event. Each date is limited to 30 participants.
Interviews for the 2024 match season will be held virtually. Interview dates will be held on the following days.
- Wednesday, Oct. 25th
- Friday, Nov. 3rd
- Tuesday, Nov. 14th
- Wednesday, Dec. 6th
- Saturday, Dec. 16th
Candidate Eligibility:
- Graduates of medical schools in the United States and Canada accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education
- Graduates of colleges of osteopathic medicine in the United States accredited by the American Osteopathic Association
- Graduates of medical schools outside the United States and Canada who meet one of the following qualifications:
- A valid certificate from the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates prior to appointment, full and unrestricted license to practice medicine in a U.S. licensing jurisdiction in which they are training, or International Medical Graduates with either a J1 visa, Employment Authorization Document (EAD), or permanent resident documentation (Green Card).
Please see the KU Medical Center Graduate Medical Education website for complete information as we will not interview candidates who do not meet these requirements.
Residency candidates are invited to interview with our residency program based on these criteria:
- Performance in medical school, as shown on their official transcript and dean's letter
- Performance in the basic and clinical science years, as evidenced by the Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE)
- Performance on the USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 or COMPLEX 1 and 2 examinations. (Our average Step 1 is 232 and average Step 2 is 246)
- Three letters of reference, preferably from surgeons
- The personal statement in their ERAS application
International Medical Graduates applying for a General Surgery residency at the KU School of Medicine are selected on the basis of the same criteria as above. In addition, they must have the following:
- ECFMG certification at the time of application to the residency program
- Employment Authorization Documentation (EAD) or Green Card or J1 visa at the time of application. For holders of H1 visas, these must be converted to J1 by the start of training. We can't sponsor H1 visas.
- Foreign graduate's medical school must be included in the "approved" schools on the KSBHA's website and not appear on the KSBHA's list of "disapproved" schools.
The General Surgery Residency Selection Committee, consisting of the chair, residency program director, associate directors, faculty members, and residents meet jointly to review all candidates and to determine our rank order list. In addition to the criteria above, we consider personal and professional traits, based on interviews with the program director and several other faculty and residents in the Department of Surgery at the University of Kansas School of Medicine.
The Department of Surgery fully supports the All In policy of the National Residency Match Program (NRMP) and will not make or consider any offers outside of the Match and the post-match SOAP program.