Creating a Surgical Critical Care Fellowship

The opening of University of Chicago’s Level I trauma center was associated with new educational opportunities for the hospital and its trainees. As the number of annual trauma activations increased, the intensive care units became busier, and the opportunity for a Surgical Critical Care (SCC) fellowship became apparent. The initial cohort of University of Chicago Medicine (UCM) Trauma and Acute Care Surgeons were dedicated to the care of the Southside community as well as developing an advanced clinical and research program. The presence of the nationally recognized Anesthesia Critical Care Fellowship program offered an initial blueprint from which the SCC program could be modeled. The program’s infrastructure adhered to the ACGME core competencies. Additionally, the program clinical focus was centered around a holistic approach to in-hospital surgical critical care and out-patient services for a traditionally marginalized population. To that end, aside from traditional academic achievements, our Fellowship candidate vetting process selected for individuals who demonstrated a life-long commitment to community service. The Fellowship’s future is directed toward finding novel ways to care for vulnerable communities while continuing to meet the training needs of our future acute care surgeons and surgical intensivists.