Mastery in General Surgery Fellowship

The Department of Surgery at Stony Brook University Hospital (SBUH) offers a one-year fellowship in mastery in general surgery. The Mastery fellowship at Stony Brook provides recent general surgery residency graduates with the opportunity to hone their skills and acquire the confidence to transition to independent practice. Our program supports the transition to independent practice in general surgery through:

• Individualized, hands-on learning tailored to individual needs.
• Independence and autonomy in clinical decision-making.
• Practical general surgery experience under the guidance of practicing surgeons.
• One-year, paid staff appointment (see PGY-6 for salary).
• Exposure to important elements of practice management.

The main focus of the Mastery fellowship is to provide the junior associate (i.e., fellow) with exposure to complicated emergency general surgery disease processes in patients at SBUH. Additional opportunities exist for the junior associate to gain diverse surgical experience:

• Four months of rural surgery experience at Eastern Long Island Hospital and Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, both on the East End of Long Island.
  • Assisting surgeons in several specialties (OR and ER coverage). Subspecialties include but are not limited to urology, obstetrics and gynecology, orthopedics.
• One week of global surgery experience through participation in Blanca’s House medical missions to Ecuador.
  • Exposure to resource-limited environments and collaborating with local surgeons and physicians to provide much-needed surgical services in the form of hernia repairs, laparoscopic cholecystectomies, postoperative care, wound care, and office consultations.

To further broaden the junior associate's readiness for independent practice, he/she will participate in the attending call roster for the exigent general surgery (XGS) service, training medical students, supervising residents, and seeing patients in a clinic setting. The curriculum will be adjusted according to the junior associate's needs throughout the program to ensure that he/she gains the competence and confidence to carry out a robust and successful independent practice. Mastery faculty will help with placement and introductions to communities that will greatly benefit from the junior associate's experiences.

Our general surgeons operate the XGS service that streamlines the care of patients presenting in the ER with acute abdominal conditions. Providing minimally invasive treatment in most cases, this service decreases both the time to surgery and the length of stay in the hospital.

Number of Positions Available: 3 per academic year.

The faculty (senior associates) of our Mastery program comprise department leaders and other members of the department's Bariatric, Foregut, and Advanced Gastrointestinal Surgery Division

Mastery Chief Samer Sbayi, MD, MBA	Senior Associate Aurora D. Pryor, MD
Senior Associate Konstantinos Spaniolas, MD	Senior Associate George D. Keckeisen, MD

For acceptance into the program (1-3) and for graduation from it (4):

1. Eligible for certification by the American Board of Surgery.

2. Completion of surgery residency at an ACGME-accredited program in the U.S.

3. Submission of a completed application with supporting documentation.

4. Upon program completion, submission of case logs and completion of program evaluation.

Interested residents can download an application and submit it to MasteryGS@facs.org. 

Samer Sbayi, MD, MBA
Chief, Mastery in General Surgery
Department of Surgery, HSC T19-053
Stony Brook, NY 11794-8191
Tel: 631-444-8330
Fax: 631-638-0050
Mastery@stonybrookmedicine.edu

For more information about the Mastery program initiative, visit the ACS's Mastery webpage.