The San Francisco General Hospital (SFGH) is the premiere public hospital in the United States and both a clinical and research campus of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). The Department of Surgery at SFGH, home of the internationally famous Trauma Center founded in 1972, encompasses an outstanding group of surgeons, fellows, residents, research scientists and students. We are all dedicated to provision of 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 fields of Trauma Surgery, Critical Care Medicine, General Surgery, Vascular Surgery, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Hand Surgery and Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. We collaborate with our colleagues in the Departments of Orthopedic Surgery, Otolaryngology, Urology, Ophthalmology and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery to provide the full spectrum of surgical care.
Education
The SFGH campus is one of the preferred sites for the third year and fourth year medical student surgery rotations. 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 “Acting Interns”. Daily faculty teaching rounds supplemented by an extensive series of clinical conferences are important components of the educational program.
UCSF Surgical Residents rotate through the Surgery Service and the ICU throughout their five year clinical experience. Progressive clinical and leadership responsibility culminates in the Chief Resident experience in the final year of training. The Chief Residency at SFGH is the crucible experience so important in the “making of a surgeon”.
The SFGH Department of Surgery is home of the UCSF Fellowship in Trauma and Critical Care Medicine. This two year post residency program provides twelve months of training in Critical Care Medicine and twelve months of training in clinical trauma surgery and administration. Clinical, basic science and/or health policy research is an expected component of the Fellowship Program. Our graduating Fellows qualify for examination in the field of Critical Care Medicine by the American Board of Surgery and assume leadership positions in both academic and community practice.
Research
The UCSF Department of Surgery Research Laboratory at the San Francisco General Hospital is a 5000 square foot research center opened in 1997 that employs over 30 scientists, fellows, students and laboratory technicians. Five research groups working in our state of the art research laboratory study various aspects of the cellular response to stress, wound healing and the role Homeobox genes in neovascularization. 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 a critically important component of our Department research effort. The Injury Center conducts scientific investigations in the fields of pre-hospital, hospital and rehabilitation care of the injured patient. The Injury Center also conducts extensive research and advocacy in the field of injury prevention.
Active research programs in the fields of acute lung injury, post traumatic coagulopathy and post traumatic stress disorder are important components of our program. All faculty members are involved in the study of clinical problems in the fields of General and Trauma Surgery.
Our Promise
Our Department is proud to be a Division of the UCSF Department of Surgery. We promise to treat our patients and educate our students as we would members of our own family. We promise to relentlessly pursue new knowledge to improve the lives of our future patients. We face the future with dedication and optimism.
With warm regards,
William P. Schecter, MD
Professor of Clinical Surgery
University of California, San Francisco
Chief of Surgery
San Francisco General Hospital