Chair’s Message

The Department of Surgery at Boston University School of Medicine aspires to provide the finest surgical patient care, to conduct world-class research and to offer state-of-the art education.

Our department has long been characterized by strength and innovation in the surgical specialties that have helped to advance the various fields within surgery. From pioneering work in emergency and trauma systems to culturally-sensitive care for immigrant populations new to the United States, BU School of Medicine has taken on each challenge and added its own special solutions.

Boston Medical Center, the primary teaching affiliate of Boston University School of Medicine is an extraordinary community of health care providers devoted to the proposition that every person, regardless of his or her social or economic circumstances, deserves the best health care.

Our mission is extraordinary but simple: to provide exceptional care, without exception.

Boston Medical Center was formed in July of 1996 by the merger of Boston City Hospital and Boston University Medical Center Hospital. BMC has proven itself to be one of the few successful public-private hospital mergers in the United States because of the commitment of the university and the medical center to mutual success. Consistent with its mission to provide the best in health care to all, BMC is the largest safety net hospital and the largest provider of trauma and emergency services in New England and reaches into the community as a founding partner of Boston HealthNet, a network of community health centers throughout the city.

By combining a commitment to uncompromising excellence with a commitment to caring for those most in need, BMC has become a national model of care, and caring, for all.

We have expanded our campus through an ambitious program of renovation and new construction to accelerate our continued development as an academic medical center during the rapid changes in the delivery of healthcare, education and research. The two previously separate hospital campuses have combined with the school and the area has been transformed. These 20 contiguous acres in Boston’s historic South End neighborhood encompass the state-of-the art facilities of the two pavilions of BMC as well as the Schools of Medicine, Dentistry, Public Health and Graduate Medical Sciences, and the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratory.

At Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center, our team approach brings together collaborative and multidisciplinary teams of physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, physical and rehabilitation therapists, pharmacists, laboratory medicine experts, radiology technicians and social workers that not only provides continuity of care for all of our patients but also strengthens our ability to educate future leaders in the modern practice of medicine and surgery.

The Boston Medical Center Surgery Residency Program provides residents with the range and depth of academic experience and clinical exposure required to develop superior surgical skills and an ability to make mature, informed, independent judgments. We expect graduates of the program to be superior general surgeons or surgical specialists. The program offers extensive clinical exposure at every level of training in order to generate this level of achievement. Attending staff with clinical and technical expertise in every major area provide work side-by-side with the trainees in patient care, and assist them in planning their surgical career.

Clinically-relevant research is expected from all residents and basic research is available and encouraged for those who are interested in adding this to their portfolio of academic development.

We are also dedicated to public health both on a micro and macro level. Boston University School of Medicine and Boston University School of Public Health—both located on our historic and attractive South End campus—are closely aligned and committed to improving the health of local, national and international populations, particularly the disadvantaged, underserved and vulnerable. We remain active in promoting resident participation in global health activities and have a rich tradition in international health work, including clinical, research and educational outreach and service in a variety of countries.

We have a proud tradition but choose to focus our attention firmly on the future: the Department of Surgery at Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center is moving forward with the confidence that we are doing, and teaching people to do, necessary and important work. As we help to shape the changes in academic medicine, we know that we are uniquely poised to be a major provider of clinical services to the citizens of New England as well as an important educator of young surgeons. We are in the midst of an exciting era at Boston University School of Medicine, and look forward to sharing that vision.

Jennifer Tseng, MD, MPH
James Utley Professor and Chair
Department of Surgery, Boston University School of Medicine
Surgeon-in-Chief, Boston Medical Center