University of Southern California/Los Angeles General Medical Center (USC/LA General) Program

Los Angeles, CA

Specialty:Thoracic surgery - integrated

ACGME Code:4610512074

NRMP Code:1033461C0

Status:Continued Accreditation

Overview

The USC/LA General Program in Thoracic Surgery - Integrated offers an innovative and rigorous training pathway for aspiring thoracic surgeons. This program is designed to provide comprehensive exposure to various surgical environments, ensuring a well-rounded educational experience that prepares residents for leadership roles in the field.

Program Structure

The integrated Thoracic Surgery residency consists of a five-year curriculum, combining general surgery and thoracic surgical training. The structure is built upon the experience gained from diverse clinical settings, integrating fundamental principles of surgery with specialized thoracic training.

Curriculum Overview

The curriculum is organized in a series of block rotations that span over two major components: general surgery and thoracic surgery. Each component is meticulously designed to ensure that residents achieve a high level of competency by engaging in progressive responsibilities as they advance in their years of training.

Rotation Details

Residents will rotate through multiple services such as: Acute Care Surgery, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Vascular Surgery, and Surgical Oncology. Rotations typically last 4 to 6 weeks, allowing residents to gain significant hands-on experience.

Major Training Sites

The training occurs at several prestigious institutions, including:

Los Angeles General Medical Center: A major Level 1 trauma center providing exposure to high-acuity cases and a wide array of surgical disciplines.
Keck Hospital of USC: Known for its advanced surgical techniques and research initiatives, offering critical insights into academic surgery.
USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center: A dedicated cancer treatment facility providing specialized training in oncologic surgical practices.

Research Opportunities

Research is an integral part of the residency experience, with protected time allocated for residents to engage in projects that align with their interests. The program emphasizes quality research that leads to presentation at national meetings and publications in peer-reviewed journals.

Funding and Support

There are various funding sources available for resident research initiatives, and residents are encouraged to pursue grants and additional funding opportunities through institutional channels.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

The program is committed to promoting justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion (JEDI) within the surgical education framework. The Department of Surgery actively engages with the local community, developing initiatives that enhance health equity and direct involvement in addressing community health challenges.

JEDI Program Initiatives

Examples of initiatives include:

Community engagement projects providing educational opportunities for youth in Los Angeles.
Programs aimed at support for marginalized groups.
Opportunities for residents to engage in service-learning experiences.

Application Requirements

The application process for the Thoracic Surgery residency mandates completion of the common application form via the Electronic Residency Application Service (ERAS). An ideal candidate profile is outlined with specific requirements:

Personal statement articulating goal and relevant experiences.
Letters of recommendation (minimum of three).
USMLE transcripts and ECFMG status report for international medical graduates.

Competitiveness

This program is considered highly competitive, particularly in attracting candidates interested in both academic and clinical pathways. The program encourages applications from both MD and DO candidates and is friendly towards international medical graduates (IMGs).

Visa Support

The program provides support for J-1 and H-1B visas, accommodating the needs of international applicants. This includes assistance in navigating the visa application process and ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements.

Life as a Resident

Residents are supported with a comprehensive benefits package, which includes competitive salaries, a housing allowance, meal stipends, and reimbursement for educational expenses. Additionally, the program fosters a supportive environment that emphasizes resident well-being and work-life balance.

Salary and Benefits

Residents can expect a salary that aligns with industry standards, coupled with an annual housing bonus aimed at helping with living expenses in the Los Angeles area. Health benefits include options for medical, dental, and vision plans tailored to individual needs.

Web sources

1. General Surgery Residency Program Overview 2. General Surgery Residency Program Details 3. JEDI Principles in Surgery 4. Diversity Sub-Internship Scholarship Award

SmartPick

Program data

ACGME History ^[3]

Accreditation Last updated: Jul 16, 2026

Initial accreditation3

Full accreditation0

Continued13

Warning0

Probationary Accreditation0

Withdrawal0

#	Academic Year	Status	Effective Date
01	2009 - 2010	Application	--
02	2010 - 2011	Application	--
03	2011 - 2012	Initial Accreditation	Jul 1, 2011
04	2012 - 2013	Initial Accreditation	Jul 1, 2011
05	2013 - 2014	Initial Accreditation	Jul 1, 2011
06	2014 - 2015	Continued	Jan 9, 2015
07	2015 - 2016	Continued	Dec 4, 2015
08	2016 - 2017	Continued	Jan 6, 2017
09	2017 - 2018	Continued	Jan 12, 2018
10	2018 - 2019	Continued	Jan 11, 2019

Program

Program Size

3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 (6 years)^[1]

Accreditation Status

Continued Accreditation

(Effective: December 5, 2025)

Composition ^[2]

MD · 100%

Training

Fellowship Rate:--

Faculty-to-Residents Ratio:1.1X^[1]

Residents Career Path ^[2]

Full-time Practice · 75%

Other · 25%

Quality of Life

First Year Paid Sick Leave: 12 days^[1]

First Year Paid Vacation: 20 days^[1]

First Year Salary: $72,301^[1]

First Year Maximum Consecutive Hours on Duty: 24 hours ^[1]

First Year Average Weekly Hours: 70 hours^[1]

Admission

USMLE Step 2 Score: --

Visa Sponsorship:J1^[2]

YOG Cutoff:1^[1]

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Incoming Schools

18%

Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California

12%

University of Alabama at Birmingham Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine

12%

University of Mississippi School of Medicine

More than 1 school has this rank*

Incoming Schools % Tree Map

Rotation Duration by Site

Rotation Duration Chart Data

Benchmarks

Match & stats

2026 Residency Applicant & Interview Insights

No data available for USMLE STEP 2 CK Score

No 2026 Applicant & Interview Insights available for this program.

Note: The AIR (Applicant Interview Rate) is calculated as the percentage of applicants in each category who were offered interviews. A higher AIR suggests stronger alignment with program preferences, indicating a greater likelihood of the program favoring applicants in this category.

USMLE STEP 2 CK Score ^[2]

No data available for USMLE
STEP 2 CK Score

COMLEX Level 2 Score ^[2]

No data available for COMLEX
Level 2 Score

Match History ^[4]

Track ID: 1033461C0

2020

2 of 2

2021

2 of 2

2022

2 of 2

2023

2 of 2

2024

2 of 2

2025

3 of 3

2026

3 of 3

Filled Position

Unfilled Position

Roster

Publications

27 Publications (5 yr)

Peer-reviewed output from faculty and residents, last 5 years

27 Publications (5 yr)

The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery2026

Two-surgeon esophagectomy: An emerging paradigm.

Mark D Girgis,¹Jane Yanagawa,²

PMID: 41621612doi.org/10.1016/j.jtcvs.2026.01.022

Annals of surgery2026

Commentary: Two Recent Mesothelioma Publications in the Annals of Surgery: Promising Data and Relationship to the Existing Literature.

Robert B Cameron,¹

PMID: 40540698doi.org/10.1097/SLA.0000000000006801

Location

Los Angeles, CA ^[5]

Population

10,014,009

Median income

$77,719On par

Education

36.2%Above

Employment

60.6%Below

Health

7.9%Above

Age

38On par

Above the national average
Below the national average
Similar to the national average

Housing — Rental prices ^[6]

Rental prices

Typical Observed Market Rent Index - ZORI Over Time

Date

Region - Los Angeles, CA

State - California

United States

1/31/2015

$1,753

$1,615

$1,193

2/28/2015

$1,762

$1,623

$1,199

3/31/2015

$1,774

$1,658

$1,206

4/30/2015

$1,785

$1,678

$1,213

5/31/2015

$1,800

$1,736

$1,228

6/30/2015

$1,810

$1,750

$1,233

7/31/2015

$1,822

$1,737

$1,235

8/31/2015

$1,832

$1,758

$1,241

9/30/2015

$1,851

$1,775

$1,245

10/31/2015

$1,863

$1,780

$1,253

11/30/2015

$1,875

$1,792

$1,259

12/31/2015

$1,884

$1,793

$1,263

1/31/2016

$1,897

$1,827

$1,275

2/29/2016

$1,912

$1,834

$1,279

3/31/2016

$1,922

$1,835

$1,282

4/30/2016

$1,931

$1,833

$1,285

5/31/2016

$1,942

$1,876

$1,291

6/30/2016

$1,956

$1,885

$1,294

7/31/2016

$1,967

$1,884

$1,295

8/31/2016

$1,969

$1,904

$1,303

9/30/2016

$1,972

$1,910

$1,307

10/31/2016

$1,981

$1,916

$1,311

11/30/2016

$1,989

$1,923

$1,312

12/31/2016

$2,000

$1,928

$1,313

1/31/2017

$2,013

$1,940

$1,317

2/28/2017

$2,025

$1,955

$1,324

3/31/2017

$2,045

$1,980

$1,335

4/30/2017

$2,054

$1,989

$1,346

5/31/2017

$2,063

$1,997

$1,353

6/30/2017

$2,068

$2,009

$1,357

7/31/2017

$2,077

$2,010

$1,359

8/31/2017

$2,088

$2,010

$1,363

9/30/2017

$2,095

$2,023

$1,406

10/31/2017

$2,104

$2,031

$1,414

11/30/2017

$2,116

$2,033

$1,413

12/31/2017

$2,127

$2,051

$1,420

1/31/2018

$2,138

$2,058

$1,422

2/28/2018

$2,150

$2,070

$1,427

3/31/2018

$2,153

$2,070

$1,429

4/30/2018

$2,158

$2,078

$1,434

5/31/2018

$2,160

$2,083

$1,438

6/30/2018

$2,172

$2,091

$1,444

7/31/2018

$2,182

$2,099

$1,449

8/31/2018

$2,195

$2,106

$1,455

9/30/2018

$2,203

$2,113

$1,461

10/31/2018

$2,212

$2,119

$1,465

11/30/2018

$2,222

$2,134

$1,473

12/31/2018

$2,231

$2,159

$1,482

1/31/2019

$2,236

$2,170

$1,492

2/28/2019

$2,235

$2,173

$1,495

3/31/2019

$2,241

$2,197

$1,503

4/30/2019

$2,252

$2,209

$1,509

5/31/2019

$2,264

$2,215

$1,514

6/30/2019

$2,269

$2,223

$1,519

7/31/2019

$2,274

$2,235

$1,526

8/31/2019

$2,278

$2,242

$1,531

9/30/2019

$2,286

$2,249

$1,534

10/31/2019

$2,291

$2,256

$1,541

11/30/2019

$2,295

$2,257

$1,545

12/31/2019

$2,298

$2,263

$1,552

1/31/2020

$2,304

$2,275

$1,560

2/29/2020

$2,313

$2,281

$1,565

3/31/2020

$2,307

$2,284

$1,565

4/30/2020

$2,297

$2,291

$1,566

5/31/2020

$2,282

$2,279

$1,563

6/30/2020

$2,269

$2,275

$1,562

7/31/2020

$2,260

$2,277

$1,571

8/31/2020

$2,247

$2,282

$1,574

9/30/2020

$2,235

$2,295

$1,586

10/31/2020

$2,229

$2,304

$1,593

11/30/2020

$2,230

$2,316

$1,602

12/31/2020

$2,230

$2,327

$1,606

1/31/2021

$2,236

$2,336

$1,613

2/28/2021

$2,239

$2,348

$1,620

3/31/2021

$2,247

$2,351

$1,629

4/30/2021

$2,255

$2,368

$1,649

5/31/2021

$2,272

$2,393

$1,663

6/30/2021

$2,298

$2,417

$1,686

7/31/2021

$2,328

$2,446

$1,707

8/31/2021

$2,366

$2,479

$1,729

9/30/2021

$2,398

$2,511

$1,752

10/31/2021

$2,428

$2,525

$1,767

11/30/2021

$2,450

$2,551

$1,777

12/31/2021

$2,477

$2,557

$1,791

1/31/2022

$2,499

$2,579

$1,800

2/28/2022

$2,521

$2,600

$1,820

3/31/2022

$2,536

$2,623

$1,829

4/30/2022

$2,558

$2,641

$1,841

5/31/2022

$2,578

$2,651

$1,852

6/30/2022

$2,597

$2,662

$1,861

7/31/2022

$2,610

$2,665

$1,868

8/31/2022

$2,617

$2,669

$1,872

9/30/2022

$2,626

$2,670

$1,875

10/31/2022

$2,630

$2,676

$1,873

11/30/2022

$2,637

$2,682

$1,875

12/31/2022

$2,640

$2,684

$1,874

1/31/2023

$2,640

$2,672

$1,877

2/28/2023

$2,641

$2,665

$1,879

3/31/2023

$2,647

$2,663

$1,884

4/30/2023

$2,656

$2,676

$1,886

5/31/2023

$2,658

$2,666

$1,886

6/30/2023

$2,653

$2,666

$1,886

7/31/2023

$2,649

$2,680

$1,891

8/31/2023

$2,649

$2,683

$1,908

9/30/2023

$2,650

$2,688

$1,912

10/31/2023

$2,652

$2,697

$1,916

11/30/2023

$2,650

$2,696

$1,918

12/31/2023

$2,649

$2,705

$1,921

1/31/2024

$2,650

$2,703

$1,928

2/29/2024

$2,652

$2,707

$1,932

3/31/2024

$2,654

$2,712

$1,935

4/30/2024

$2,664

$2,722

$1,942

5/31/2024

$2,673

$2,731

$1,946

6/30/2024

$2,682

$2,741

$1,973

7/31/2024

$2,687

$2,745

$1,958

8/31/2024

$2,691

$2,752

$1,992

9/30/2024

$2,695

$2,763

$1,993

10/31/2024

$2,698

$2,762

$1,995

11/30/2024

$2,704

$2,767

$1,999

12/31/2024

$2,709

$2,770

$2,003

1/31/2025

$2,726

$2,805

$2,006

2/28/2025

$2,739

$2,820

$2,007

3/31/2025

$2,745

$2,836

$2,016

4/30/2025

$2,742

$2,846

$2,019

5/31/2025

$2,742

$2,849

$2,022

6/30/2025

$2,744

$2,849

$2,026

7/31/2025

$2,749

$2,854

$2,029

8/31/2025

$2,753

$2,862

$2,027

9/30/2025

$2,756

$2,834

$2,030

10/31/2025

$2,759

$2,894

$2,052

11/30/2025

$2,760

$2,907

$2,095

12/31/2025

$2,760

$2,907

$2,086

1/31/2026

$2,750

$2,925

$2,160

2/28/2026

$2,742

$2,926

$2,178

Crime — All violent offences ^[7]

Rate per 100,000 residents

Rate per 100,000 people Over Time

Date

Region - Los Angeles, CA

State - California

United States

4/1/2021

5/1/2021

6/1/2021

7/1/2021

8/1/2021

9/1/2021

10/1/2021

11/1/2021

12/1/2021

1/1/2022

2/1/2022

3/1/2022

106

4/1/2022

103

5/1/2022

109

6/1/2022

109

7/1/2022

113

8/1/2022

113

9/1/2022

109

10/1/2022

107

11/1/2022

12/1/2022

104

1/1/2023

108

2/1/2023

3/1/2023

101

4/1/2023

104

5/1/2023

112

6/1/2023

108

7/1/2023

116

8/1/2023

113

9/1/2023

109

10/1/2023

117

11/1/2023

12/1/2023

104

1/1/2024

2/1/2024

3/1/2024

100

4/1/2024

101

5/1/2024

106

6/1/2024

106

7/1/2024

109

8/1/2024

106

9/1/2024

104

10/1/2024

102

11/1/2024

12/1/2024

1/1/2025

2/1/2025

3/1/2025

4/1/2025

5/1/2025

6/1/2025

7/1/2025

100

8/1/2025

9/1/2025

10/1/2025

11/1/2025

12/1/2025

1/1/2026

2/1/2026

3/1/2026

Living in Los Angeles, CA

Crime rate and safety

Los Angeles has a moderate crime rate with certain neighborhoods having higher crime rates than others. It's recommended to research and choose a safe area to live in.

Fun activities

Los Angeles is known for its diverse entertainment options, such as Hollywood attractions, beautiful beaches, hiking trails, museums, and vibrant nightlife.

Climate

Los Angeles has a Mediterranean climate with mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers. It is generally sunny throughout the year.

Races and population

Los Angeles is a melting pot of cultures with a diverse population representing various races and ethnicities.

Education

Los Angeles is home to several prestigious universities and colleges, offering a wide range of educational opportunities.

Cost of living

The cost of living in Los Angeles is relatively high compared to other cities in the U.S., especially when it comes to housing and transportation.

Proximity to bigger cities

Nearby bigger cities include San Diego (about 2-3 hours drive) and San Francisco (about 6-7 hours drive), offering additional urban experiences.

Pros

Exciting cultural opportunities
diverse culinary experiences
access to beautiful beaches
great weather
and potential networking opportunities in the entertainment industry.

Cons

High cost of living
traffic congestion
air pollution
and housing affordability challenges.

FAQ

Integrated thoracic surgery residents rotate through three major training sites: Los Angeles General Medical Center (a Level 1 trauma center), Keck Hospital of USC (known for advanced surgical techniques and research), and USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center (a dedicated oncologic surgery facility). Each site provides distinct clinical exposure, from high-acuity trauma to specialized cancer surgery.

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Nearby programs

Thoracic surgery - integrated Programs Near Los Angeles, CA

Other specialties near Los Angeles, CA

References

1. Freida - https://freida.ama-assn.org/program/4610512074

2. Residency Explorer - https://www.residencyexplorer.org/Program/GetByIdWithMedicalSpecialty/d41f813d-d403-3a34-698c-8a27228e9a7f

3. ACGME - Accreditation Data System (ADS) - https://apps.acgme.org/ads/Public/Programs/Search

4. NRMP Results and Data: 2022-2026 Main Residency Match - https://www.nrmp.org/match-data/2026/03/program-results-2022-2026/

5. United States Census Bureau - https://data.census.gov/profile/City,_VS?g=010XX00US

6. Zillow Research - Observed Rent Index (ZORI) - https://www.zillow.com/research/data/

7. FBI - Crime/Law Enforcement Stats (Uniform Crime Reporting Program) - https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/ucr

University of Southern California/Los Angeles General Medical Center (USC/LA General) Program

Overview

Program Structure

Curriculum Overview

Rotation Details

Major Training Sites

Research Opportunities

Funding and Support

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

JEDI Program Initiatives

Application Requirements

Competitiveness

Visa Support

Life as a Resident

Salary and Benefits

Web sources

SmartPick

Program data

Program

Training

Quality of Life

Admission

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Incoming Schools

Rotation Duration by Site

Benchmarks

Match & stats

2026 Residency Applicant & Interview Insights

Match History Matched positions of the program in previous years [4]

Roster

Publications

Two-surgeon esophagectomy: An emerging paradigm.

Commentary: Two Recent Mesothelioma Publications in the Annals of Surgery: Promising Data and Relationship to the Existing Literature.

Location

Living in Los Angeles, CA

Crime rate and safety

Fun activities

Climate

Races and population

Education

Cost of living

Proximity to bigger cities

Pros

Cons

FAQ

Ready to Find Your Ideal Residency Program?

Nearby programs

Other specialties near Los Angeles, CA

References

Match History ^[4]