FAQs

How many residents do you currently have?
We currently have 19 residents in the General Surgery Program.

When do you notify applicants if they will be invited for an interview?
We review applications and send invitations on a rolling basis throughout the interview season.

What EMR system is used in your hospital and clinics?
Our Academic Medicine Health Centers use Allscripts, and our hospital system uses Patient Keeper. Epic is coming soon.

What do the didactic sessions cover?
Faculty organize, supervise, and facilitate extended block didactic sessions, designed to review relevant topics particularly important for passage of the certifying board exams. Content includes weekly faculty lectures based on SCORE, case and research reviews, practice questions and/or review quizzes, and other topics relevant to the practice of general surgery.

We also have shared didactics across all specialties where we offer a breadth of learning experiences in such topics as cultural humility, ethics and professionalism, social determinants of health, ongoing opioid education, career planning, motivational interviewing, and public speaking.

Which types of fellowships do your residents go on to complete?
Our residents have successfully matched into fellowships including Surgical Critical Care, Plastic Surgery, Cardiothoracic, ECMO, Colorectal, Vascular Surgery, and Trauma-Critical Care.

How does the department assist with obtaining fellowships?
If a resident is interested in a fellowship, we connect them with a mentor of that specialty for their research. We also encourage offsite electives as auditions at their chosen program.

Community Memorial offers a one-year non-ACGME accredited Quality Improvement and Patient Safety (QIPS) Fellowship for internal candidates designed to provide clinical, academic, and administrative training in quality improvement, patient safety, and leadership development. To learn more about our QIPS Fellowship, click here.

What is the research program like?
Residents are required to actively participate in scholarly work in both research and quality/performance improvement projects. General Surgery residents are able to complete case reports, retrospective studies, or prospective research in areas that align with future career endeavors. By the end of the residency, each resident should have disseminated their research via medical conferences and/or publications.
Each resident participates in a longitudinal quality improvement project in an area of interest. The projects are designed to provide education and cultivate leadership skills for the practicing physician.

What is your patient population like?
The Ventura County population is diverse and ranges in socioeconomic status, language, and age. We have many geriatric patients who are very healthy and active as well as younger patients with complex medical conditions. We also have a large Spanish-speaking patient population.

Do you have any simulation experiences?
Interns participate in a procedurally-based POCUS session and spend a day at the UCLA simulation lab participating in acute care scenarios. GME also pays for the following courses and certifications: Advanced Surgical Skills for Exposure in Trauma (ASSET), Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS), Fundamentals of Critical Care Support (FCCS), Fundamentals of Endoscopic Surgery (FES) and Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS). Finally, residents participate in mock trauma codes.

Where do residents typically live and how much is housing?
All residents live within 15-20 minutes of the hospital in the cities of Ventura or Oxnard. Most residents who chose to live in Oxnard live near The Collection as it is within walking distance to shops and restaurants. Housing prices vary by location, square footage, and amenities. It is more affordable if you have roommates to share the cost of rent and find housing through independent owners rather than large apartment complexes. A rough estimate would be anywhere from $1600-$2500+ for a single room and $3500-$4000 for a three-bedroom house, not including additional costs such as utilities. This amount depends on where you are willing to compromise when you are house hunting.

Is it easy to approach the Program Director and Associate Program Director?
Our Program Director and Associate Program Director are practicing physicians whom the residents work with directly in patient care, making it easy to develop strong relationships. They are always available to support residents in any way. In order to continue to improve the program, they also encourage feedback, which makes residents feel appreciated and heard.

What can I expect while living in Ventura?
Ventura County sits between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara counties. The city offers a coastal feel with a neighborhood vibe, and many of our residents run into their patients out in the community. Ventura offers plenty of hiking, water activities, and a great surf culture. New microbreweries pop up all the time, along with independently owned coffee shops and restaurants. The weather year-round is enjoyable year-round, with the exception of a few unbearably hot days in the summer. Ventura is a quiet beach town that catches you by surprise. Once you’re here, you may find it hard to leave!