The San Francisco General Hospital (SFGH) has been serving the needs of the citizens of San Francisco and the surrounding area for more than 140 years. SFGH is a premiere public hospital and a major clinical and research campus of the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). The Trauma Center at SFGH was founded in 1972, making it one of the first trauma centers in the country. Currently SFGH is the only Level 1 trauma center serving the city of San Francisco. The surgical faculty at SFGH are dedicated to providing the highest quality of care to our patients, education of our students and residents, and advancement of scientific knowledge.
Clinical Care
Our surgeons provide care for patients regardless of their social or financial status in the areas of General Surgery, Trauma Surgery, Critical Care Medicine, Vascular Surgery, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Hand Surgery, and Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. SFGH is able to provide a full spectrum of surgical specialties through the activities of our strong Departments of Orthopedic Surgery, Otolaryngology, Urology, Ophthalmology and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.
Education
The SFGH campus is a major educational site for the UCSF School of Medicine. At any given time, more than one-third of all UCSF residents and students are working or training at SFGH. The Surgery rotation at SFGH is a favorite of third year and fourth year medical students because of the range of patients cared for and the dedication of the teaching faculty. Students receive didactic lectures in all areas of general surgery, become an integral part of the "Trauma Team" and rotate through our busy Emergency Department. Fourth year students serve as "Sub- Interns" with greater degrees of responsibility. Daily faculty teaching rounds and extensive exposure to a wide range of operative procedures are key components of the educational program.
Residents in the UCSF Surgery program rotate on several surgical services and in the SICU during their five years of clinical training. The very active trauma program and the challenging variety of patient co-morbidities make the resident experience at SFGH a key component of UCSF surgery training. Progressive clinical and leadership responsibility culminate the Chief Resident experience in the final years of training.
The SFGH Department of Surgery is the home of the UCSF Fellowship in Trauma and Critical Care. This two-year post residency program provides 12 months of training in Critical Care and 12 months of advanced clinical trauma surgery and administration. Research projects in clinical, basic science and/or health policy research are an integral component of Fellowship training. Graduating Fellows qualify for the American Board of Surgery Certificate of Added Qualifications in Surgical Critical Care. Many of our Fellows have gone on to assume leadership positions in both academic and community practice.
Research
The Surgery Research Laboratory at SFGH is a 5000 square foot research center that opened in 1997. It houses more than 30 scientists, Fellows, students, and laboratory technicians. Research groups working in our state-of-the-art laboratory study various aspects of the cellular response to stress, wound healing, inflammation, sepsis, surgical infections, acute lung injury and post-traumatic coagulopathy. Pre-medical students, medical students, surgical residents and post-doctoral fellows all play an important role in laboratory activities.
The San Francisco Injury Center, funded by the Centers for Disease Control, is an equally important component of the Departmental research effort. The Injury Center conducts scientific investigations in pre-hospital, hospital, and rehabilitative care of injured patients. The Injury Center conducts extensive research and advocacy in the field of injury prevention and has been instrumental in developing innovative community and international outreach programs. The Wraparound Project, funded by the City of San Francisco, is an innovative injury reduction project that targets residents who are at risk for repeated violent injury.
All faculty members are continuously involved with investigating clinical problems in General and Trauma Surgery, Critical Care, and, more recently, Acute Care Surgery.
Our Vision
The surgical faculty and staff at SFGH are proud members of the UCSF Department of Surgery. We are committed to providing compassionate, state-of- the-art care to our patients, advancing medical knowledge to improve the lives of our future and educating the next generation of medical and surgical leaders. We invite you to help us to create that brighter future.
Michael A. West, MD, PhD
Professor and Vice Chair, Department of Surgery
University of California, San Francisco
Chief of Surgery
San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center