Apply to Our Program

The application process is through ERAS. Applicants will be contacted individually for interview after review of each application. In order to adhere to public safety measures during the COVID pandemic, we will be performing all interviews virtually. We will assuredly do our best to give interviewees the fullest possible VM experience during their interviews. Interview dates this year are listed above under Interview Dates & Details.

A wide range of surgical subspecialty exposure and immersion, highly complex surgical disease and tertiary level referral, a robust robotic surgery curriculum with graduated responsibility in the OR, standardized approach to post-operative management in the form of well-developed ERAS protocols for various service lines (bariatrics, colorectal, thoracic, esophageal, liver, and pancreas surgery), a strong history of surgical training (oldest surgical residency in the PNW), an open-minded and adaptable approach to surgical education led by our program director, Dr. Chang.

Residents rotate at several locations in the Seattle and the northwest Washington area: Virginia Mason Medical Center, Skagit Valley medical center (60 miles north of Seattle on I-5, housing is provided by the program), Harborview Medical Center, and Seattle Children’s Hospital. Each has their own unique areas of excellence to enhance the well-rounded surgical education we strive to achieve in our residents. In addition, many residents have been able to arrange elective rotations in their senior years of training.

Residents enjoy a wide range of benefits including health and dental care, a competitive salary, meal stipends, surgical loupes, vacation (usually surrounding weekends for a total of 9 days of vacation at a time), and the ability to attend various surgical meetings. Please see our resident benefits listed above for more information.

Driven, down to earth, humble team player who is committed to self-improvement and patient care.

There are many opportunities for clinical and educational research during your clinical years at VM and our Benaroya Research Institute. All residents are involved in research at some point in their training. One project is required to be completed by graduation. Typically one resident per class spends a fully subsidized year of research in topics of their choice. Some residents have spent the year at an outside institution. See our academics page for additional information and to see what current and former residents have done.

We follow the SCORE curriculum with supplementation from TrueLearn question bank for ABSITE preparation, a robotic surgery curriculum, a colorectal lecture series, monthly journal clubs, quarterly Selected Readings in General Surgery journal clubs, and surgical grand rounds. We have M&M each week, as well as a structured education day each Friday morning. Each July, we have an intern bootcamp and skills lab.

About 20% of graduates go straight into general surgical practice in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.  The other 80% enter competitive fellowships of their choosing.  See more details on our recent graduates page.

Heather Seabott, Program Manager: [email protected]

Most residents live in Seattle in the various neighborhoods (First Hill near the Hospital, Capitol Hill, Central District, International District, Belltown, South Lake Union, Eastlake, Greenlake, Ballard, Fremont, West Seattle) although some residents live outside of Seattle in Kirtland, Renton, and other nearby suburbs. Residents are able to afford housing in the Greater Seattle area.