General Surgery Residency
About
The University of Hawai’i Surgical Residency Program is an approved five-year general surgery training program accredited by the ACGME. The Program operates in an integrated and affiliated community hospital system in which patients are treated by University Faculty and University-affiliated, Private Surgical Attending Physicians with Clinical Faculty appointments. The training of all Surgical Residents takes place primarily in four Honolulu community hospitals.
During the first two years, residents complete a series of required rotations which prepare them to either continue their training in general surgery or in a surgical subspecialty. Throughout their five years of training, residents will have increasing responsibility for surgical care, culminating in their chief year, when they will assume total responsibility for patient care and administration of a surgical team.
In 1949, The Queen’s program was approved for three years of training and over the next ten years graduated one Chief Resident every year. During the 1950s one and two-year residencies in General Surgery were established at St. Francis and Kuakini Medical Centers. In 1959, largely as a result of favorable recommendations made by site visitor surgeons, the Conference Committee on Residency Training approved the Surgical Program at The Queen’s Medical Center for four years. In 1961, The Queen’s Medical Center joined with St. Francis Medical Center and Kuakini Medical Center, inaugurating the Integrated Surgical Residency Training Program. Residents rotated on services in all three hospitals, coming under the tutelage of a number of capable surgical teachers in both general surgery and subspecialties.
In 1972, as the University of Hawai’i John A. Burns School of Medicine grew and prospered, it gave impetus to the Residency Training Program and eventually assumed responsibility for the Program as the Institutional Sponsor. The first Professor of Surgery and first Program Director was Dr. Richard Mamiya who was instrumental in raising the number of residents to 20 and incorporating Straub Clinic and Hospital, Kauikeolani Children’s Hospital, and Kaiser Hospital into the integrated program. In 1972, the name of the residency program was changed to the University of Hawai’i Surgical Residency Program.
Program Directors
Dr. Richard Mamiya (1972-1974), Dr. Thomas Whelan, Jr. (1974-1990), Dr. J. Judson McNamara (1991-1998), Dr. George McPheeters (1998-2002), Dr. Danny Takanishi (2002-2015), Dr. Kenric Murayama (2015-2023). As of January 1, 2024, Dr. Chad Cryer became Program Director.
The Surgical Residency Program seeks to prepare Residents to become surgeons of the highest caliber by providing a rich educational experience in a variety of clinical settings. The three main program components – curriculum, research, and service – are structured to enable the resident to acquire the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and clinical judgment needed for the practice of general surgery.
Faculty & Staff
There are approximately 30 academic faculty, and 150 private surgical attending physicians appointed as clinical faculty members. In addition to the Directors of Surgical Education (DSE), there are division chiefs for anesthesiology, ENT, emergency medicine, neurosurgery, ophthalmology, orthopaedic surgery, pediatric surgery, plastic surgery, radiology, surgical critical care, surgical research, thoracic, transplant, trauma, urology, and vascular surgery. Faculty to Resident Ratio is 1.0:1.4. Learn more about our Department of Surgery Faculty here: https://surgery.jabsom.hawaii.edu/faculty-staff-directory/.
Chad Cryer, MD, FACS
Assistant Professor of Surgery
Program Director
Cedric Lorenzo, MD, FACS
Associate Professor of Surgery
Associate Program Director
Dean Mikami, MD, FACS
Interim Chair of Surgery and Associate Chair of Clinical Affairs
Associate Program Director
Christina Wai, MD, FACS
Assistant Clinical Professor of Surgery
Associate Program Director
Riley Kitamura, MD, FACS
Assistant Professor of Surgery
Director of Surgical Education at The Queen’s Medical Center – West O’ahu
Elna Masuda, MD
Assistant Professor of Surgery
Director of Surgical Education at Straub Medical Center
Andrew Oishi, MD, FACS
Assistant Professor of Surgery
Director of Surgical Education at Kuakini Medical Center
Susan Steinemann, MD, FACS
Professor of Surgery
Director of Surgical Education at The Queen’s Medical Center – Punchbowl
Designated Institutional Official at the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine
Russell Woo, MD, FACS
Professor of Surgery
Director of Surgical Education at Kapi’olani Medical Center for Women and Children
