Colon and rectal surgery fellowship

The Corewell Health – Grand Rapids/Michigan State University Colon and Rectal Surgery Fellowship is a one-year ACGME accredited program that accepts two fellows each year. The program began within the Ferguson Clinic, founded in 1929 and its legacy of training and education continues. Throughout the course of the year, fellows work closely with the colon and rectal surgery faculty and advanced practice providers (APPs), as well as rotating general surgery residents and medical students. Our program is committed to providing a broad clinical experience with an emphasis on academics and research. With quality and safety at the forefront, fellows will learn to understand the ever-evolving disease processes, technological advances and multidisciplinary approaches to disease management.

Hello! Thank you for your interest in our fellowship program. Colon and rectal surgery training is a long-standing tradition at Corewell Health in West Michigan. In 1929, the Ferguson Clinic was founded and has continued and evolved into the Corewell Health-Grand Rapids/Michigan State University colon and rectal surgery fellowship program, in partnership with Michigan State University School of Human Medicine.

As the program director, I am proud of the training and mentorship that fellows receive from our faculty and staff. There are nine board certified faculty with very diverse training backgrounds that help provide an enriching environment during fellowship training. There are four dedicated colorectal surgery advanced practice providers (APPs) that assist with Interdisciplinary Rounds, patient care updates and discharge planning.

The fellowship program is a one-year ACGME accredited program which accepts two fellows every year. The broad and diverse clinical encounters occur at Corewell Health Blodgett Hospital (part of Corewell Health Grand Rapids Hospitals) and Corewell Health Butterworth Hospital (part of Corewell Health Grand Rapids Hospitals). Throughout the year, general surgery residents rotate on the service as well as Michigan State University medical students; therefore, there are many teaching opportunities.

Strengths of the program include the balance of clinical experiences, both in and out of the operating room, research opportunities and a very diverse patient population. Fellowship training includes a broad operative experience, abundant endoscopy time and office hours available daily. The Ferguson Clinic is well known for anorectal diseases and treatment, and there is also an abundance of operative experiences with intra-abdominal and pelvic procedures as well as endoscopic procedures. We offer a large amount of minimally invasive procedures, both laparoscopic and robotic, with progressive autonomy for the fellows. The graduates of the program have consistently become competent surgeons and have secured both academic and private practice jobs.

The colorectal surgery fellowship program has a very active research department. Dr. Ogilvie heads the research initiatives and works closely with the dedicated colorectal surgery research staff and non-ACGME research fellows throughout the clinical year.

We are committed to providing fellows with clinical variety, experience, academics, and support systems throughout the year to help you confidently take the next step in your career.

Rebecca E. Hoedema, MD, MS, FACS, FACRS
Colon and Rectal Surgery Fellowship Program Director
Corewell Health Colon and Rectal Surgery Center for Digestive Diseases
Ferguson Clinic

The colon and rectal surgery clinical experience includes training at both Corewell Health Grand Rapids Hospitals - Blodgett Hospital and Corewell Health Grand Rapids Hospitals - Butterworth Hospital. The educational goal is to improve the knowledge and skills of the fellows in the full spectrum of colon and rectal disease processes. Opportunities include patient evaluation and management, critical decision making, operative and technical skill development, and clinical research. There are scheduled didactics weekly that include a structured teaching program and multidisciplinary conferences. During the year, fellows will adhere to the ACGME core competencies and work closely with the dedicated faculty, advance practice providers and rotating general surgery residents and medical students.

Program focus

The colon and rectal surgery fellowship is a one-year program with two ACGME positions each year. The fellowship includes a busy clinical year with a broad operative experience, abundant endoscopy time and office hours available daily. The strength of the program is the balance of the clinical experiences, both in and out of the operating room, research opportunities and a diverse patient population. There are many up-to-date operative experiences, including minimally invasive procedures, both laparoscopic and robotic, TEM/TAMIS, advanced endoscopic techniques and pelvic floor treatment with evaluations in a multidisciplinary format.

Program aims

The educational goals of the program are to provide a large clinical volume of encounters in the field of colon and rectal surgery and to improve the knowledge and skills of the fellows. We provide a full spectrum of colorectal surgery. Opportunities include, patient evaluation and management, critical decision making, endoscopy and operative skills, clinical research, educational and teaching opportunities within a structured program and dedicated didactic conferences. The varied faculty backgrounds provide a diverse and distinctive training platform for fellows throughout the clinical year.

Advanced practice providers

The colon and rectal surgery program has four dedicated advanced practice providers (APPs) on the service. The APPs work closely with the faculty, clinical colorectal surgery fellows and rotating general surgery residents to ensure a smooth transition in patient care. They are active participants in morning sign out, help lead interdisciplinary rounds during the week with the on-call faculty and assist with discharge planning for patients. APPs are an integral part of the educational program, they participate in call, can assist with OR cases and contribute to educational conferences. The addition of the dedicated APPs to the colorectal surgery service is an added benefit for the fellowship program and the entire service.

Didactics

Didactic conferences occur weekly. A bimonthly multidisciplinary tumor board, radiology and pathology conferences with GI participation for IBD cases and rotating quarterly meetings in research, quality and safety and video session review occur every Tuesday at 7 a.m., followed by weekly M&M. Weekly interactive chapter review from the current ASCRS textbook is performed with the assigned colorectal faculty. Additional specialty lectures are included throughout the year and include a genetics lecture, enterostomal therapy lecture, gastroenterology talks and business in medicine, with an emphasis on billing and coding.

Research

Corewell Health in West Michigan has an active research department, led by Dr. Ogilvie and the dedicated research assistants and nurses who work in close association with the colorectal surgery fellows. We are also funded annually for a non-clinical research fellow who works closely with the department and is very involved in ongoing and new research projects and actively participates in research meetings. Quarterly colorectal surgery research meetings are led by the research team along with the research fellow. The Colorectal Surgery department remains active in local and national meetings with both poster and podium presentations over the past several decades.

The Corewell Health - Grand Rapids/Michigan State University Colon and Rectal Surgery Fellowship program participates in the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) with applications accepted through the Electronic Residency Applications Systems (ERAS). All applications are reviewed, interviews are then offered and conducted with the program director and other core faculty.

For more information please contact Courtney Bradley, program coordinator.

Corewell Health in West Michigan provides a comprehensive and very competitive benefits package for our residents, staff and their families. In addition, our program provides educational monies to support your ongoing education. Download our salary and benefits document to learn more.