Minimally invasive surgery fellowship

The minimally invasive surgery fellowship at Spectrum Health provides fellows an opportunity to train in an educationally-rich environment that supports innovative learning through technology and dedicated faculty.

The minimally invasive surgery fellowship at Spectrum Health is a one-year program accredited by and matched through the Fellowship Council. We offer an opportunity to acquire advanced minimally invasive skills in all aspects of surgery within an environment that fosters a mutually beneficial relationship between the fellow, the general surgery program and Spectrum Health.

The fellowship includes a busy clinical year with a broad operative experience, abundant endoscopy time and office hours available weekly. The strength of the program is the balance of the clinical experiences, both in and out of the hospital setting, research opportunities and a diverse patient population. We offer the most advanced surgical techniques using the Da Vinci Robotic system, natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery, therapeutic endoscopy and laparoscopic cases. The fellow can tailor their experience to meet their long-term career goals by choosing to focus the fellowship on particular areas of interest.

The minimally invasive surgery clinical experience, includes training at Corewell Health Blodgett Hospital (part of Corewell Health Grand Rapids Hospitals). During the course of the year, the fellow will work closely with the general surgery faculty, rotating general surgery residents and medical students.

The fellow will be required to attend conferences, including medical surgical reviews, analyses of complications and deaths, seminars and clinical practice review meetings. In most cases, these educational activities will be shared with general surgery residents. Active participation of fellows in the planning and production of these meetings is essential to the fellows’ education and should enhances the education of general surgery residents. Additional hospital specific teaching rounds are held weekly.

The fellow will be appointed as an instructor to fulfill the role of a junior faculty member. They will take call as soon as they pass their general surgery board exam. The fellow will have faculty as a second line backup while on call at all times. The fellow will participate in administrative activities of the department with active learning about practice management and other administrative aspects related to the future practice of their specialty.

The Spectrum Health Office of Research and Education provides opportunities for research support in close association with the surgery residents and fellows. Amy Banks-Venegoni, MD, FACS, leads a quarterly minimally invasive surgery research meeting to facilitate progress in ongoing research projects and to develop new projects. The Spectrum Health General Surgery department remains active in local and national meetings with both poster and podium presentations over the past several years. The fellow will be expected to be involved in at least one research project throughout the year.

The minimally invasive surgery fellowship participates in the Fellowship Council match. Fellowship applications are reviewed and downloaded only through the Fellowship Council.

Spectrum Health provides a comprehensive and competitive benefits package for our residents, fellows, staff and their families. The minimally invasive surgery fellowship salary is $75,000.