The Acute Care Surgery and Surgical Critical Care Fellowship is a two-year program providing advanced training in surgical critical care, trauma surgery and emergency general surgery.

The fellowship is one of a limited number of training programs in the country accredited by the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST). The program accepts three fellows per year.

Program Goals and Objectives

The central goal of the Surgical Critical Care (SCC)/AAST-accredited Acute Care Surgery (ACS) fellowship is to train well-rounded clinicians with broad knowledge in all aspects of trauma, critical care and emergency general surgery who are capable of disseminating expertise and education locally, regionally and nationally. We also aspire to produce surgeons who are prepared to become leaders in the fields of SCC and ACS either in an academic or community-based environment.

Why Train at Wake Forest?

Fellows are exposed to the breadth of surgical critical care, trauma surgery and emergency general surgery at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, a tertiary care referral center and Level 1 trauma center for western North Carolina as well as parts of southern Virginia and Tennessee, resulting in a wealth of experience.

Approximately 1,600 patients are cared for on the emergency general surgery service. Between trauma and emergency general surgery cases, the ACS service supports a combined operative load of approximately 2,000 cases per year. Advanced intensive care unit (ICU) and operating room (OR) facilities have state-of-the-art equipment so that fellows are exposed to optimal education and patient care experiences.

The responsibilities of the ACS fellow expand throughout the training program to a level similar to junior faculty, allowing the fellows’ skills to grow in a mentored environment.

The program is led by a dedicated and enthusiastic teaching force who have a wealth of experience in evidence-based care, technology, research and administrative development.

We are very proud of the training we provide our fellows. We believe that our fellows are well prepared to become leaders in the ICU and trauma/emergency surgery arenas. We thank you for your interest and look forward to having you learn more about the training opportunities we provide. Please feel free to contact any of our faculty or fellows if you ever have any questions.

Program Overview

Year 1 – Surgical Critical Care

The first training year provides advanced training in surgical critical care. Fellows receive comprehensive training in busy trauma and surgical intensive care units that provide experience in all aspects of critical care.

Year 2 – Acute Care Surgery


The second training year includes advanced training in trauma surgery and emergency general surgery, which includes six months of electives that may include:
  • Burn surgery
  • Orthopedics
  • Neurosurgery
  • Vascular surgery
  • Interventional radiology
  • Thoracic surgery
  • Hepatobiliary surgery

Fellows completing the program will be eligible for American Board of Surgery certification in Surgical Critical Care.