Division of General Surgery

General Surgery Residency Program Official Website

Our General Surgery residency program is arguably one of the premier training programs in the country.  As the nation's first accredited International General Surgery program, we now offer broad-based rotations in Africa with experiences in General Surgery, Pediatric, Plastic and Urologic Surgery.

Under the leadership of the program director, Dr. John Tarpley and associate program director Dr. Kyla Terhune, we graduate eight chief residents per year. With an incredibly talented surgical faculty among eight departments and 11 divisions, residents have access to more than 50,000 operative cases, including 25,000 ambulatory surgical cases, each year at Vanderbilt University Hospital and the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.

This experience is also supplemented by the significant surgical volume at the Nashville Veteran's Affairs (VA) Hospital -- also located on the Vanderbilt campus.  All of this experience is available in close proximity within the three block geographical area.  In addition, our General Surgery residents gain a significant community surgical experience at St. Thomas Hospital, less than 4 miles from the main Vanderbilt University campus.  As a result, residents typically compete the program exceeding the index case numbers required for board certification in every major category.

Residents at the PGY 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 levels rotate on the General Surgery Service at Vanderbilt Hospital. The Chief Resident on that service is the Administrative Chief Resident for all general surgery residents at Vanderbilt and has a central role in the coordination of patient care, educational activities for the students and residents, and general administrative duties for the residents.

Educational opportunities for the resident rotating on the General Surgery Service include didactic and interactive rounds with the faculty, multidisciplinary conferences with the gastroenterology service weekly, and multidisciplinary clinics in breast disease, surgical oncology, and GI disease. There is also a laparoscopic surgery fellowship program.

Visit the General Surgery Residency website to learn more about our program.

John Tarpley, MD
Director, General Surgery Residency Program
Section of Surgical Sciences  

Kyla P. Terhune, MD
Associate Program Director, General Surgery Residency Program
Section of Surgical Sciences

Stephanie Rowe
Coordinator
General Surgery Residency Program
Section of Surgical Sciences
Phone: (615) 343-6642
email: stephanie.rowe@vanderbilt.edu

Margaret Genendlis
Department Education Assistant
General Surgery Residency Program
Section of Surgical Sciences
Phone: (615) 322-1414
email: margaret.genendlis@vanderbilt.edu