Teaching tomorrow's surgeons

In collaboration with the University of Vermont Health Network, the Department of Surgery strives to recruit and retain the best faculty members to train our medical students.  The Department provides surgical services and training at the University of Vermont Health Network and is proud to be an integral part of this high quality, cost efficient health care center.  Our mission is to provide excellent patient care, superb resident and medical student training, and to foster research and innovation.   

Faculty and student practice microsutures

Education

From the entering novice medical student to the most experienced practitioner, the educational contribution of our department significantly and positively impacts the quality of care throughout Vermont and the areas throughout the country where our graduates practice. The major focus of our educational programs lies in Medical Student Education, Resident Education, Continuing Medical Education and Skills Labs.

Physicians in the skull base lab

Research

A broad spectrum of activities are directed toward improving the quality of our patient care and toward developing novel, innovative therapies. Through investigator-initiated trials, as well as national cooperative group, and industry-funded trials, department faculty are able to offer our patients access to cutting-edge treatments not otherwise available.

Department Highlights

Brian Sprague, PhD, Division of Surgical Research, was awarded a Health Services Research Pilot Grant from the Larner College of Medicine, for his proposal, “Evaluation of a cancer risk assessment questionnaire to guide cancer screening decision-making in primary care.”

Bruce Leavitt, MD (Cardiothoracic Surgery) and a team of 10 from UVM, are part of Team Heart, a nonprofit focused on bringing cardiac care to people in Rwanda.  Watch the WCAX segment. 

Departmental News

Herrington Appointed Inaugural Emergency Medicine Health Care Service Leader

October 13, 2021 by Jennifer Nachbur

Ramsey Herrington, M.D., associate professor of surgery and division chief of emergency medicine, has been appointed the inaugural Emergency Medicine Health Care Service Leader.

Ramsey Herrington, M.D.

Larner College of Medicine Dean Richard L. Page, M.D., and Claude Deschamps, M.D., immediate past president & CEO of the University of Vermont Health Network Medical Group and former senior associate dean for clinical affairs, recently announced that Ramsey Herrington, M.D., has been appointed the inaugural Emergency Medicine Health Care Service Leader. Herrington began his new role on October 1, 2021.

An associate professor of surgery, Herrington joined UVM in 2006 and has served as division chief of emergency medicine since 2017. In addition, he serves as Specialty Council Chair, Emergency Medicine, for the UVM Health Network. Under his leadership, the UVM Health Network successfully launched its first accredited residency in emergency medicine, and numerous high quality faculty members have been recruited to work across the Network and contribute to our clinical and academic missions.

The goal of this new Health Care Service is to support talent recruitment and retention in alignment with the needs and aspirations of current and future faculty members.

"It further promotes and solidifies advancement of research and education and magnifies our commitment to access and service [and] is squarely aligned with the strategy of UVM Health Network to fully develop integrated emergency care throughout our region," said Page and Deschamps in their joint announcement.

The two leaders added that the creation of an Emergency Medicine Health Care Service marks a critical step forward for the entire UVM Health Network, University of Vermont and Larner College of Medicine communities, and patients, and underscores the importance of investing in clinical innovation and strategic growth.

With this change, the organizations reaffirm their commitment for Emergency Medicine, which will be put forward to the University to become a Department of the Larner College of Medicine at the appropriate time. In the meantime, the Division of Emergency Medicine will remain under the responsibility of the Department of Surgery in regard to the academic mission. 

 

Upcoming Events

Surgery Grand Rounds is held every Thursday during the academic year (September - June) in the Davis Auditorium from 7:30-8:30 am followed by M&M Conference from 8:30-9:30 am.

Visit the detailed department calendar >>