Updated 5/22/2009

East Carolina University 

Program Director
Eric A. Toschlog, M.D., F.A.C.S., F.C.C.M. 

University Affiliation
East Carolina University 

 

Hospital Data Beds 740  Trauma admissions (annual) 2,500  ED visits (annual) 63,000  ICU beds 24		Fellowship Data Year begun 2004  Fellowship positions 1  Duration 1 or 2 years  RRC Certified Yes  Trauma faculty 7  Blunt trauma 80% Penetrating trauma 20% Surgical procedures (annual) 650  Trauma procedures 77% General surgery procedures 23%
Fellowship Types Trauma Only Critical Care Only Trauma+CritCare Acute Care Surg

Qualifications of Applicant
Completion of at least three years of General Surgery Residency. 

Description of Program

The goal of the surgical critical care fellowship is to prepare surgeons for leadership and clinical excellence in academic or clinical surgical critical care and trauma. The foundation of training occurs at Pitt County Memorial Hospital (PCMH), the 740 bed tertiary care teaching hospital and Level I trauma center for the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University. Pitt County Memorial Hospital is the sole tertiary care facility in rural Eastern North Carolina, serving a 29 county catchment area bound by Interstate 95 to the west and the Outer Banks to the east.

The fellowship is comprised of one year of surgical critical care (SCC) followed by an optional year of SCC and trauma. Eleven months of the first year are focused in the 24 bed Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU), which is subdivided into eight bed Neurosurgical, Trauma, and Surgical intensive care units. The SICU experiences an annual volume of approximately 1,500 critically ill surgical and trauma patients. As the sole tertiary facility in the region, PCMH receives a diverse breadth of complex surgical critical illness. The Trauma and Surgical Critical Care (TSCC) service is staffed by seven fellowship-trained surgeons managing critically ill trauma, general and vascular surgery, neurosurgery, ENT, urology, orthopedic, plastic, and obstetric/gynecology patients. The SICU operates at 95% capacity, with a typical TSCC service census of 15-20 patients. A one-month burn elective at the University of North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center is available and encouraged. During the second optional year of the program, the fellow will serve as Instructor in Surgery, functioning as an attending in the Department of Surgery. The second year will focus on development of further expertise in SCC and operative trauma surgery.

First year responsibilities include assistance with management of patients on the TSCC service, such that all phases of the care of the severely injured and critically ill surgical patient are mastered. The SCC fellow will serve as both liaison between faculty and the SICU and educational resource to the surgical housestaff. With progression through the fellowship, each fellow will assume greater responsibility and autonomy, functioning in the capacity of junior attending in charge of the SCC service. Operative experience is available commensurate with the guidelines established by the RRC and ACGME. In addition, fellows will be responsible for orchestration of multidisciplinary critical care conference and the daily fellow’s conference. Completion of a prospective clinical research project is expected. The SCC fellow will take approximately five in house calls per month. Second year responsibilities include participation in the attending trauma and SCC call schedules and further growth of research pursuits. Second year fellows will function as Instructor in Surgery within the Department of Surgery, and have full attending responsibilities for trauma and SCC while on call. In addition, fellows will serve as attending of the week for the SCC service on a rotating basis with other faculty. The second year will focus on development of advanced operative and management skills in trauma and SCC. Approximately four calls per month are anticipated, with SCC attending of the week duties every sixth week.