Program Director

Program Director’s Message
Richard K. Orr M.D., MPH, FACS

Welcome to the Spartanburg Regional Medical Center surgical residency website! The faculty and I appreciate your interest in surgery and our training program. Spartanburg Regional is a great training program that offers many advantages to surgical trainees. I have been program director since 2001, and feel that our program is getting better each year. Compare our objective data with other programs – I think you will agree that we match up well. Our general surgery residency program is fully accredited by ACGME residency review committee with 15 categorical positions in the 5 year program.

 Please explore our website. We have provided as much objective data as possible to help you decide if Spartanburg Regional is right for you. If you like what you see, you may apply for an interview. The interview process gives you the best chance to see our program’s overall ambience, the hospital setting, and gives you a chance to talk one on one with residents and faculty.

Clinical Experience

Each 2007 graduating chief performed over 1200 major operations, including over 400 laparoscopic or thoracoscopic procedures. Additionally, he performed over 130 endoscopic procedures. This operative experience begins (in a much supervised fashion) during the PGY-1 year. Scut work is minimized and we have minimal requirements for the traditionally work-oriented specialty rotations (such as cardiac surgery and transplantation). SRMC has no subspecialty residents: our general surgery trainees perform many advanced laparoscopic and surgical oncology procedures that are done by fellows in other institutions.

We have a Level 1 Trauma Center that is fully accredited by the American College of Surgeons, and is among the busiest in the state. Our Gibbs Regional Cancer Center is achieving national recognition and will be enhanced by the 2008 opening of the Bearden-Josey Breast Center.

Academics

Surgical training is more than accumulating a large number of surgical procedures. We pride ourselves in the academic component of our program. Our American Board of Surgery first-time pass rates are excellent (currently 89% for combined parts I and II). We have nine full-time faculty members who have completed subspecialty fellowships in breast, surgical oncology, trauma/ critical care, vascular, and plastic and reconstructive surgery. We are obsessive about education and patient care with a foundation in evidence-based surgical practice. We monitor our surgical outcomes and strive for error prevention and continued quality improvement. In addition to academicians (who have faculty appointments from the Medical University of South Carolina) we have many surgeons who have spent their professional lives in private surgical practice. Many of these surgeons trained at Spartanburg Regional and are dedicated to fulfilling the promise of our residency. They are able to offer a practical approach to the business side of surgical practice.

Progress in the residency is monitored through the annual American Board of Surgery In-Training Examination. The median score for all residents since the class of 2002 is at or above the 62th percentile, and 70 percent of residents scored above the National average for their residency PG year. For the past five years, the passage rate of the Qualifying Examinations and Certifying Examinations for the American Board of Surgery is 89 percent for the Qualifying Examination and 100 percent for the Certifying Examination.

Spartanburg Regional residents have been successful in obtaining fellowships in their fields of choice. Recent graduates have achieved success in minimally invasive surgery, vascular surgery, and plastic surgery. Residents electing to practice general surgery have joined excellent practices and are pleased with their ability to perform at the required level from Day One in practice.

Personal Life

SRMC offers many of the advantages of larger academic institutions while giving each resident a more personal experience. We are particularly concerned about the quality of residents’ life, both within and outside of the hospital. Many of our residents are married and some have small children. The program is sincere in adhering to the RRC work regulations (80 hour week).

Spartanburg is a vibrant city of 40,000, within a metropolitan area of 150,000. The county is in excellent financial shape; a major BMW plant came to the area in 1996 and continues to create excellent job opportunities. Advance America, QS/1 Data Systems, and Denny’s house their corporate headquarters here. Downtown Spartanburg has entered a renaissance and sports a new Marriott, downtown revitalization, and several upscale restaurants. The Chapman Cultural Center is a 48 million dollar project that will enhance performance arts in the area. Spartanburg is home of several fine colleges (Wofford, Converse, USC Upstate, Spartanburg Methodist College) and has a strong public school system. Housing is affordable (median home price $121,000) enabling categorical residents to purchase homes on a resident salary. Traffic is minimal – the average commute is only 10-15 minutes.

I am pleased that you are exploring our website and seeing what Spartanburg Regional Medical Center has to offer.

For more information please call or email:
Ms. Sissy Lipsey, Program Coordinator
Phone: 864-560-6285