Office of Career and Residency Advising (OCRA)

Your Match Starts Here

General Surgery Career Advising Toolkit

The General Surgery Career Advising Toolkit provides UCR School of Medicine students with resources to explore general surgery, connect with specialty-specific mentors, understand the training pathway, and prepare for residency application success.

Explore General Surgery

General Surgery Career Pathway

Learn about the journey to becoming a general surgeon, including medical school preparation, surgical residency training, fellowship opportunities, and career options.

Access General Surgery Training Pathway and Career Roadmap

General Surgery Specialty Profile

Explore information about general surgery as a specialty, including career pathways, clinical experiences, surgical subspecialties, and opportunities available to medical students.

This resource can help students:

  • Understand the scope of general surgery practice
  • Learn about surgical evaluation, operative management, and perioperative care
  • Explore specialty-specific clinical experiences
  • Identify opportunities for surgical skills development
  • Explore fellowship and subspecialty pathways
  • Identify opportunities for career exploration

General surgeons provide comprehensive surgical care across a wide range of conditions and clinical settings. The specialty emphasizes clinical decision-making, operative technique, perioperative management, teamwork, and longitudinal patient care.

Select the "Specialty Profiles" tab to explore specialty information, clinical experiences, career pathways, and opportunities available to medical students.

Preparing for General Surgery Residency

Specialty-Specific Residency Resources

Access resources designed to help students understand general surgery residency expectations and develop an effective application strategy.

Resources include:

General Surgery Specialty Bootcamp

Learn from general surgeons and surgical leaders about specialty exploration, clinical rotations, surgical skills, and residency preparation.

Topics include:

  • Exploring general surgery as a specialty
  • Understanding the surgical workflow and perioperative patient care
  • Preparing for general surgery clinical rotations
  • Developing foundational surgical skills
  • Building a strong residency application
  • Preparing for residency interviews
  • Transitioning successfully into surgical residency training

View General Surgery Specialty Bootcamp Video

Mentorship and Advising

General Surgery Faculty Advisor

Connect with a general surgery faculty advisor who can provide specialty-specific guidance throughout medical school and residency preparation.

Faculty advisors can assist with:

  • Specialty exploration
  • General surgery clinical rotation planning
  • Surgical skills development
  • Research and scholarly opportunities
  • Residency application preparation
  • Career planning
  • Fellowship and subspecialty exploration

Faculty Advisor

Nicholas Sheets, MD
UC Riverside School of Medicine

Research and Scholarly Opportunities

Explore opportunities to participate in surgery-related research and scholarly activities.

Visit the Scholarly Activities Portal to learn about available projects, mentorship opportunities, and ways to get involved.

Student Community

Surgery Interest Group

Mission

The UCR Surgery Interest Group is dedicated to fostering student interest in surgical careers through education, mentorship, skills development, and professional networking. Our mission is to expose students to the diverse specialties within surgery, provide opportunities for hands-on surgical skills practice, connect students with surgeon mentors, and facilitate meaningful interactions with surgeons at all stages of their careers. Through workshops, panels, mentorship programs, and networking events, we aim to support students in exploring the field of surgery and developing the knowledge, skills, and relationships necessary for future success.

Connect with peers and participate in general surgery and surgical specialty exploration activities through the UCR Surgery Interest Group. Opportunities include:

  • Surgical education sessions
  • Hands-on surgical skills workshops
  • Specialty panels and presentations
  • Physician mentorship opportunities
  • Networking with surgeons and surgical trainees
  • Professional development activities

Surgery Interest Group Leadership

Faculty Advisor
Nicholas Sheets, MD

Student Leaders

Ally Zweigle
Leo Navejas

UCR General Surgery Residency Match Information

Explore where UCR School of Medicine graduates have matched into general surgery residency programs.

Select the "Residency Match Outcomes" tab to view specialty-specific residency match information.