The residents are responsible for the care of patients on their service under the supervision of the chief resident and the attending surgeons. Realizing the importance of ambulatory surgery, the residents are expected to attend office hours with individual faculty members and to see patients in the surgery clinic. Over 15,500 procedures are performed each year in the operating room. St. Luke's has an affiliation with the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, Temple University School of Medicine, and the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine. Medical students from these institutions and from other institutions rotate on the surgical services at St. Luke's Hospital.
Residents play an important role in the education of the medical students.
Each resident is required to participate in scholarly activities. Residents are encouraged to participate in already established basic science and clinical surgical projects. Residents are required to participate in the design, execution, and written summary of at least one research project. The residents will be assisted by the Director of Surgical Research, faculty advisors, as well as by the Research Institute of St. Luke's Hospital. Financial and staff support is available for research projects.