The Surgical Critical Care Fellowship at Augusta University offers its fellows the ability to finish their education with elite training. We accept two fellows each year into a one year program. The variety and acuity of the educational experiences provide the fellows with a well-rounded, robust last step in their clinical maturation. Our goal is to provide surgeons the ability to take care of the sickest patients.
Augusta University is the academic medical center for the state of Georgia. It is a Level 1 Trauma Center, averaging 3000 trauma activations (18% penetrating trauma), 1800 trauma admissions, and over 1200 general surgery operations per year. The bulk of the fellowship training is accomplished through the closed Shock-Trauma ICU which houses all the trauma and emergency general surgery patients. This affords our fellows a “hands-on” experience managing complex patients daily. The fellow leads a large team, as we have a vibrant surgical residency, multiple advanced practice providers, and medical students from the Medical College of Georgia that participate daily on rounds. We believe that this year should be a fellowship year, not an extension of residency. As such, we strive to ensure that the fellows are given responsibilities and autonomy commensurate with their experience.
Located on the banks of the Savannah River, Augusta is the state’s second-largest city and was recently ranked the second most favorable place to live in the state. It is a growing and thriving city with a metropolitan-area population of around 450,000 and boasts a wealth of recreational opportunities. Although best known for the Masters Golf tournament, it offers much more, including excellent restaurants, multiple entertainment venues, all enjoyed in an area in which the cost of living remains low. It is also a 2-hour drive to numerous southern points of interest such as Atlanta, Charlotte, Savannah, Charleston, multiple beaches, and mountains. Augusta is a wonderful city in which to continue surgical education with the luxury of a large metropolitan area, but the conveniences of a smaller city.
