Program Overview
The General Surgery Residency Program at UPMC Mercy offers residents a 5-year hybrid model of surgical education. As a core residency program of the University of Pittsburgh Department of Surgery, our residents are trained by world-class faculty and benefit from robust academic surgical training and access to research opportunities. At the same time, we pride ourselves on developing exceptional clinical surgeons via the unique community-based training environment at UPMC Mercy. Our program is close-knit and collegial, with 4 categorical residents per class year in addition to 5 preliminary PGY-1 residents. This allows us to sustain a hospitable and nurturing environment - with excellent camaraderie between the residents and attending staff - while also providing a rigorous surgical education that emphasizes clinical excellence and early operative experience. We are especially proud that our program currently is the only Surgery Program in Pennsylvania that has a 100% cumulative pass rate on both the Qualifying (Written Boards) and Certifying (Oral Boards) Examinations. In recent years, roughly 70% of our graduates have opted to pursue advanced fellowship training, while the other 30% have gone directly into general surgery practice.
UPMC Mercy is a tertiary referral center and is also the only combined Level 1 trauma and burn center in western Pennsylvania. The hospital is located near downtown Pittsburgh, and serves patients transferred to our facility from a wide catchment area across PA, NY, MD, WV, and OH. We take great pride in offering exceptional care to our local community, with a large percentage of our patients coming from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
Since its founding in 1847 by the Sisters of Mercy, the mission of our hospital has been to provide the very best care to all peoples regardless of race, nationality, age, gender, sexual orientation, or religion. Since partnering with UPMC in 2008, we have expanded our ability to carry out our mission. In early 2023, we anticipate the completion of a new $510 million, nine-story tower. In addition, a staged complete renovation of our operating suites is currently in progress and is estimated to be completed by 2024.