General Surgery Residency - More Information

Get details on operative experience, research and how to apply.

Shelton J, Asplund M, Samad MA, Winer J, Born M, Pandelidis S. Hürthle Cell Thyroid Carcinoma With Meningeal Metastasis: A Case Report and Brief Literature Review. SN Comprehensive Clinical Medicine, Published 2023 Jan 11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42399-022-01373-0.

Samad MA, Patel D, Asplund M, Shih-Della Penna DC, Tomhe Y. A Rare Case of Aortoenteric Graft Erosion Presenting as Candida Glabrata Fungemia. Case Rep Vasc Med. 2021;2021:9002143. Published 2021 Nov 16. doi:10.1155/2021/9002143.

Samad MA, Ali AM, Shih-Della Penna DC, Tiedebohl SC. Nontraumatic Liver Herniation Mimicking a Right Lower Lobe Lung Mass. Journal of Surgical Case Reports. 2021 Sep;9, rjab387. doi:10.1093/jscr/rjab387.

Patel DD, Shih-Della Penna DC, Terry SM. Splenic trauma from colonoscopy: A case series. Int J Surg Case Rep. 2020;71:30-33. doi:10.1016/j.ijscr.2020.04.057.

Keystone Chapter of American College of Surgeons Spring Conference, April 2023, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Braganza, J, Huang, Z, Juhng, J, Pierre, N, Lobichusky, P, Shih-Della Penna, D, Hafiz, S. “PIC Scores Improve Following Rib Fixation.”
Pierre, N, Davis, G, Jain, S, Trawczynski, M, Lee, B, Hafiz, S, Carney, D. “Demographic Mapping of Penetrating Pediatric Trauma in York, PA.”
Braganza, J, Wilson, M, Huang, Z, Johnson, D. “Recurrent Large Extrauterine Lipoleiomyoma.”
Huang, Z, Krishnan, V, Braganza, J, Trawczynski, M. “Post-Traumatic Euglycemic Diabetic Ketoacidosis in the Setting of SGLT2 Inhibitors: Report of Two Cases.”

38th Annual Meeting American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, . June 2022, Dallas, Texas

Ortega, E. “A Single Surgeon's Experience with the Single Anastomosis Loop Duodeno-Ileostomy (SADI/SIPS) Surgery.”

17th Annual Academic Surgical Congress, February 2022, Orlando, Florida

Samad, MA, Newell, B, Patel, D, Asplund, M, Nikolova, K, Ali, A, Pandelidis, SK, Shih-Della Penna, D, Pandelidis, S. “The Utility of Post-operative Parathyroid Hormone Levels in Outpatient Thyroidectomy.”
Russo, M, Mpinga, E, Shih-Della Penna, D. “Impact of Training on Surgery Residents' Preparedness for Prescribing Opioids.”

American College of Surgeons Quality and Safety Conference, July 2021, virtual

Shelton, J, Shih-Della Penna, D, Damewood, R. “Identifying modifiable risk factors for prevention of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in surgical patients.”
Pekar, E, Shih-Della Penna, D, Vabi, B. “Preoperative Spirometry Value as an Indicator of Postoperative Complications in Patients Undergoing Colorectal Surgery within ERAS Protocol.”

36th Annual Resident Research Day WellSpan York Hospital, May 2021, York, Pennsylvania

Samad, MA, Shelton J, Asplund, M, Shih-Della Penna, D, Ryan J. “Recurrent retrograde intussusception after Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass: A case report and literature review.”
Samad M.A., Ali, A., Shih-Della Penna, D., Tiedebohl, S. “Non-traumatic liver herniation mimicking a lower lobe lung mass.”
Samad, MA, Newell, B, Patel, D, Asplund, M, Nikolova, K, Ali, A, Pandelidis, SK, Shih-Della Penna, D, Pandelidis, S. “The Utility of Post-operative Parathyroid Hormone Levels in Outpatient Thyroidectomy.”
Annis, A, Shih-Della Penna, D, Mpinga E. “SOSCE (Surgical Objective Structured Clinical Evaluation): A method to objectively assess the performance of surgical residents during training.”

Association of Program Directors in Surgery Annual Meeting, April 2021, Boston, Massachusetts

Annis, A, Shih-Della Penna, D, Mpinga E. “SOSCE (Surgical Objective Structured Clinical Evaluation): A method to objectively assess the performance of surgical residents during training.”

American College of Surgeons Keystone Chapter Case Reviews Competition, Top Submission, April 2021

Nikolova, K, Rodriguez-Carrera, S, Shih-Della Penna, D. “Squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue metastatic to the small bowel causing an obstruction.”
Huang, Z, Shih-Della Penna, D, Mpinga, E. “Catheter-directed Thrombectomy Combined with Veno-Venous Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation for Massive Pulmonary Emboli in the Setting of Multisystem Penetrating Trauma.”

Pennsylvania NSQIP Consortium Quarterly Meeting, April 2021, virtual

Shelton, J, Shih-Della Penna, D. “Preventing VTE in Surgical Patients: Quality Improvement Project.”

13th Annual Association of American Medical Colleges Integrating Quality Conference, March 2021, virtual

Hammond, N, Shih-Della Penna, D, Mpinga, E. “Understanding Emergency Medical Services: Surgical Residents and Pre-hospital Patient Care.”

35th Annual Residents’ Research Day, WellSpan York Hospital, May 2020, York, Pennsylvania

Annis, A, Shih-Della Penna, D, Mpinga, E. “Surgical Olympics: An Engaging Educational Tool for Assessing and Reinforcing Residents' Surgical Skill.”
Nikolova, K, Rodriguez-Carrera, S, Shih-Della Penna, D. “Squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue metastatic to the small bowel causing an obstruction.”
Hammond, N, Shih-Della Penna, D, Mpinga, E. “Understanding Emergency Medical Services: Surgical Residents and Pre-hospital Patient Care.”

15th Annual Academic Surgical Congress, February 2020, Orlando, Florida

Patel, D, Shih-Della Penna, D, Terry, S. “Splenic Trauma After Colonoscopy: A Case Series.”

Application process

WellSpan Health accepts applications through the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS) only. Mailed, faxed or emailed applications will not be acknowledged.

We must receive your complete application on or before Dec. 1. Our general surgery residency recruitment committee will review completed applications and extend interview invitations on a rolling basis.

Complete PGY-1 applications include:

an ERAS application
standardized test scores:
- Both USMLE Step 1 and USMLE Step 2 are required, and USMLE Step 2 is recommended by interview dates in November through January.
- COMLEX-USA Level 1 is optional.
dean’s letter
three letters of recommendation:
- letter from a surgeon (required)
- letter #2, applicant choice (a letter from a chair is optional)
- letter #3, applicant choice

Graduation date:

All applicants' medical school graduation dates must be within five years of expected matriculation into our residency program.

International medical graduate information:

Visas: We sponsor H-1B and J visas. US clinical experience is not a requirement.
ECFMG: ECFMG certificate is needed prior to submission of rank list.

General interview information:

We will offer virtual interviews on a rolling basis beginning in November.
A Second Look option will be available in February.
The aim of the surgical residency recruitment committee is to provide each applicant with individualized interview experiences. We’re excited to share the unique aspects of our program with you.

If you have any questions, please email our Senior Residency Program Coordinator, Danielle M. Spencer, at dspencer@wellspan.org.

Notice of Rights Under Federal Conscience and Anti-Discrimination Laws

WellSpan Health and all WellSpan Hospitals comply with applicable Federal conscience and antidiscrimination laws prohibiting exclusion, adverse treatment, coercion, or other discrimination against individuals or entities on the basis of their religious beliefs or moral convictions. You may have the right under Federal law to decline to perform, assist in the performance of, refer for, undergo, or pay for certain health care-related treatments, research, or services (such as abortion or assisted suicide, among others) that violate your conscience, religious beliefs, or moral convictions.

If you believe that WellSpan Health or any WellSpan Health Hospital has failed to accommodate your conscientious, religious, or moral objection, or has discriminated against you on those grounds, you can file a conscience and religious freedom complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights, electronically through the Office for Civil Rights Complaint Portal, available at https://ocrportal.hhs.gov/ocr/portal/lobby.jsf or by mail or phone at: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 200 Independence Avenue SW, Room 509F, HHH Building Washington, DC 20201, 1–800–368–1019, 800–537–7697 (TDD). Complaint forms and more information about Federal conscience and anti-discrimination laws are available at http://www.hhs.gov/conscience.

A copy of the complete rule and OCR’s explanatory text, as published in the Federal Register, is available at: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2019-05-21/pdf/2019-09667.pdf.

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General Surgery Residency - More Information

Get details on operative experience, research and how to apply.