Program Director(s):
Iman Ghaderi
Jeffrey Hodges
Description:
As part of a major academic medical center, Advanced GI MIS Fellowship Program at Banner - University Medical Center excels in training, research and clinical programs. Our dual purpose is to train those who will provide top quality patient care and academic leadership in advanced laparoscopic and robotic surgery. Applicants must have an interest in developing advanced skills in minimally invasive, robotic and flexible endoscopy, as well as acquiring experience in management of morbid obesity, foregut diseases and abdominal wall hernias.
This fellowship program has three main objectives: 1) To develop proficiency in operative skills in the area of advanced laparoscopic and robotic surgery, 2) To obtain ability to teach laparoscopic operative skills to surgical residents and 3) To develop research skills in the area of upper GI surgery, metabolic surgery and surgical education. Graduates of this program are expected to be able to carry out advanced laparoscopic operations independently, to develop and manage a center of minimally invasive and bariatric surgery, and to teach the fundamental and advanced laparoscopic skills. Fellows are also expected to graduate as a certified robotic surgeon.
The fellow’s training experience will be spent primarily in general, upper GI and bariatric surgery procedures such as paraesophageal hernia repair and fundoplication, revisional foregut surgery, Heller myotomy, primary bariatric (gastric bypass, sleeve gastrectomy) and revisional procedures, inguinal hernia, complex ventral hernia, solid organ surgery, and diagnostic and therapeutic flexible endoscopy. The robotic platform is used for a large volume of the cases, but the main emphasis is to train versatile minimally invasive surgeons with advanced laparoscopic skills who can adapt to different practices after graduation.
The fellow will work closely with fellowship-trained surgeons and will participate in medical student and resident education. We are instituting Advanced Training in Laparoscopic Suturing (ATLAS) into our curriculum as part of our required simulation curriculum and ask the fellow to reach proficiency level by the second quarter of the fellowship for the first year and hopefully first quarter next year. https://atlas.surgicaleducation.com/guidebook/
The fellow will work the contributing faculty member, Dr. Nejad. This will allow the fellow to join in on hernia and general surgery cases.
The fellow has dedicated research time. This time is allocated for active engagement with our research team focusing on the fellow’s research area of interest. This includes active participation in our weekly MIS research meeting focusing on general and metabolic surgery, outcome research and surgical education.
The program has a strong emphasis on operative experience and development of clinical and administrative skills as part of a structured curriculum to assist the fellow to transition to independent practice.
The fellow will also be taught basic and advanced robotic surgical skills in a stepwise fashion in order to master its application in foregut, bariatric and hernia surgery cases.
Basic Program Information:
- Location: Tucson, Arizona
- Primary Program Site: Banner - University Medical Center Tucson
- Primary Hospital: Total bed size, # OR's, # Surgical ICU beds: Total bed size 649, OR Suites 20, Surgical ICU beds 14 (This hospital is the only Level I Trauma Center designated in Southern Arizona)
- Secondary Program Site: Banner - University Medical Center South
- Secondary Hospital: Total bed size, # OR's, # Surgical ICU beds: Total bed size 245, OR Suites 5, Surgical ICU beds 5
- Clinic locations and schedule:
Banner University Medical Center – North
3838 N. Campbell Avenue, Bldg. 2
3rd Floor, Clinic H
Banner - University Medical Center – South
2800E. Ajo Way
General Surgery Clinic
- University Affiliation: University of Arizona
- School of Medicine Affiliation: University of Arizona College of Medicine - Tucson
- Year Program and/or Designation Established: 2010
- Number of Faculty: Three
- % of Program Clinical: 90
- % of Program Research: 10
Additional Program Information:
- Interaction with Residents: Do not share cases with residents
- Is there a General Surgery Residency at the Primary Institution? Yes
- Is there a General Surgery Residency at the Secondary Institution? No
- Is there a curriculum in place for fellowship? Yes
- Is there a skills lab at the institution with fellow access? Yes
- Are there teaching conferences available for the fellow? Yes
- Is there an evaluation tool for fellow by faculty in place? Yes
- Is there an evaluation tool for faculty by fellow in place? Yes
- Papers Accepted For Publication where PD was an author: 20
- Publications that Involved Input from the Fellow: 5
- Are funds available for the Fellow to attend conferences? Yes
Malpractice Insurance Information:
- The fellow(s) is also required to have attending privileges (insurance coverage must also include all activities for their work while they act as a fellow and an attending) and the program provides the following:Occurrence-based malpractice coverage
Contact Information For Questions:
Debbie Sherrow
Phone: 520-626-4705
Fax: 520-626-1411
Email: [email protected]
Web: https://surgery.arizona.edu/residencies-fellowships/advanced-gi-mis-clinical-fellowship
Facilities
Dry Lab
Wet lab
Library
Administrative Support
Basic Science Research
Clinical Research
Simulation Lab
Citizenship and Visa Requirements:


Medical School Requirements:



Examinations and Certifications:






Licensure Requirements and Information:
- Applicants must have completed an ACGME-accredited General Surgery Residency program and should be eligible to take the American Board of Surgery exam.
- The fellow is appointed as a Clinical Instructor at The University of Arizona and must be eligible and receive an Arizona unrestricted medical license prior to the intended start date. For more information about the Arizona Medical Board, please visit their website at http://www.azmd.gov
- Applicants must meet all necessary credentialing guidelines of Banner – University Medical Center.
Accreditation Status | Accreditation Period | Length of Accreditation | Accredited for Advanced GI MIS | 2024-2026 | 2 |
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Fellowship Opportunity # 1
- Number of Positions Available: 1
- Type of Fellowship: Adv GI MIS
- Duration: 1 year
- Start Day: August 1
- End Day: July 31
- Is this a salaried position? Yes
- It is a requirement that the salary must be commensurate to a PGY 6 or greater in the same city. Does your program meet this requirement? Yes
- Is the salary guaranteed for the year? Yes
- Is there funding available beyond salary for meeting attendance, research, etc? Yes
- Is the salary dependent on call? No
- Is the Fellow on call?
Yes
What are the on call requirements? - What are the estimated fellow weekly work hours?
- It is a requirement that Health Insurance be provided. Do you provide health insurance to your fellows? Yes
- Teaching Responsibilities: Yes
- Courses/Academic Presentations: Yes
- Does reimbursement for the above make up part of the salary? No
- Does the fellowship contract include a non-compete clause? No
Clinical Outpatient Experience
The fellow is expected to participate in the evaluation of general and bariatric surgery patients in the outpatient clinic (1.5) days each week. The fellow may also attend office hours of other teaching staff.
Research/Scholarship Resources
The fellow will be involved in clinical and investigational research and will receive mentoring on study design and analysis, manuscript preparation, and research presentation. The fellow will be required to submit at least one abstract for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. The manuscript does not necessarily need to be accepted for publication in the journal to which it was submitted.
The fellow will also be responsible for collection and analysis of data for use in research studies related to minimally invasive and bariatric surgery and will work in collaboration with the postdoctoral research fellow on research projects and publications.
Travel funds are available to attend academic conferences. Attendance at the annual meeting of the Society of Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) is expected.
The fellow will also be involved with the education of residents and medical students at The University of Arizona.
Program Director(s) Detailed Information
Dr. Iman Ghaderi MD, MSc, MHPE, FRCSC, FACS, FASMBS
- At Institution Since: 2014
- Program Director Since : 2017
- Board Certification: Board Certified
Society Memberships
SAGES
ACS
ASMBS
Areas of Expertise
MIS, Robotic, Bariatric, Foregut, Hernia, Flexible EndoscopyTeaching Qualifications
Summary of Qualifications
TRAINING
09/1992 – 09/1999 Doctor of Medicine (MD) Shahid Beheshti (National) University of Medical Sciences Tehran, Iran
05/2003 – 05/2005 Master of Science (MSc) McGill University, Division of General Surgery Montréal, Quebec, Canada
09/2005 – 06/2006 Clinical Clerkship University of Western Ontario London, Ontario, Canada
07/2006 – 06/2011 General Surgery Residency University of Western Ontario London, Ontario, Canada
2009 – 2012 ASE Surgical Education Research Fellowship (SERF)
07/2011 – 07/2018 Master of Health Professions Education (MHPE) University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), Chicago, Illinois
09/2011 – 06/2012 Research Fellow in Advanced Laparoscopic and Bariatric Surgery University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
07/2012 – 06/2013 Clinical Instructor and Fellow Advanced Laparoscopic and Bariatric Surgery University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
CURRENT POSITIONS
Associate Professor of Surgery, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Program Director, Advanced GI/MIS Fellowship Program at Banner - University Medical Center Tucson
Assistant Program Director, General Surgery Residency Program, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Chair, Clinical Competency Committee, General Surgery Residency Program, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Director of Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery (MBS) Program, Banner – University Medical Center, Tucson, AZ
Instructor, Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS) Training Course, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Director/Instructor, Arizona Simulation Technology & Education Center (ASTEC), University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Director/Instructor, ACES Residency Training Course, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Program Director, Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, Minimally Invasive Surgery University of Arizona, College of Medicine – TucsonTucson, AZ
Chair, SAGES Course Endorsement Working Group, SAGES Continuing Medical Education (CME) committee
Dr. Jeffrey Hodges MD
- At Institution Since: 2024
- Program Director Since : 2024
- Board Certification: Board Certified
Society Memberships
SAGES
ACS
ASMBS
Areas of Expertise
MIS Foregut, Bariatric, Robotic, Hernia, EndoscopyTeaching Qualifications
Summary of Qualifications
Training
8/2023 - 7/2024 University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Magee-Womens Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA, Minimally Invasive Bariatric and General Surgery Fellowship
7/2017 - 6/2022 Houston Methodist Hospital, Department of Surgery, Texas Medical Center, Houston, TXCategorical Residency in General Surgery
Current Positions
Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Associate Program Director, Advanced GI MIS Clinical Fellowship at Banner – University Medical Center Tucson
Chair, Clinical Competency Committe, Advanced GI MIS Clinical Fellowship at Banner – University Medical Center Tucson
Division of Time
Percentage of Time Spent in Clinical Activity:
90%
Percentage of Time Spent in Research
Activity:10%
Case Load as Reported By Fellow(s)
1 Fellow(s) performed 413 cases with 457 procedures during the 2024-2025 Fellowship Year.
1 Fellow(s) performed 426 cases with 436 procedures during the 2023-2024 Fellowship Year.
List of Contributing Faculty
Iman Ghaderi MD, MSc, MHPE, FRCSC, FACS, FASMBS | 55% |
Area of Expertise MIS Foregut, Bariatric, Robotic, Hernia, Endoscopy |
|
Role in Training Program Director, Faculty, Clinical Teaching, Research |
|
Jeffrey Hodges MD, MS | 40% |
Area of Expertise MIS Foregut, Bariatric, Robotic, Hernia, Endoscopy |
|
Role in Training Associate Program Director, Faculty, Clinical Teaching, Research |
|
Andrew Nejad MD | 5% |
Area of Expertise General surgery; endoscopy; laparoscopic and robotic surgery including cholecystectomy, hernia repairs, colon and small bowel surgery, and appendectomy; emergency general surgery; hemorrhoids; and skin and soft tissue removal. |
|
Role in Training Contributing Clinical Teaching/Section Chief General Surgery BUMC-South Campus |
|
Accreditation History
Director | Program | Length | Start | End | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Iman Ghaderi | Advanced GI MIS | 2 | 2024 | 2026 |
Please visit the link below for a glimpse of various prospectives about Tucson from Residents and Fellows.
https://medicine.arizona.edu/prospective-residents-and-fellows