Dr. William Sullivan has been associated with the General Surgery rotation since its inception and was in private practice in Raleigh until 1990. Dr. P. Osita Udekwu joined the faculty in 1991 upon finishing a Trauma and Critical Care Fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh. He is the Director of the Surgical Intensive Care Unit. In addition to the full-time faculty, residents work closely with private practitioners and attendings on the Trauma Service. Residents also participate variably with other general surgeons on staff.
Residents have the benefit of providing total patient care from initial patient contact onward.
Generally, the resident who sees the patient does the physical, performs the surgery, and provides all postoperative care. All of this is done under the direction of the responsible attending, while the call resident directs the evaluation and management of the major trauma patients. Broad operative experience includes most facets of general, vascular, thoracic, and trauma surgery, as well as some plastic and reconstructive surgery. Surgical volumes are high, and residents perform 150-250 cases during their Wake experience. Residents participate daily in surgical clinics to enhance their learning opportunities.