General Surgery Residency Program

Welcome New and Prospective Residents

On behalf of the faculty of the Department of Surgery at Desert Regional Medical Center, thank you for your interest in our General Surgery Residency Program. This is a 5-year ACGME accredited program that started in July 2023 with three PGY-1 and three PGY-2 resident positions.

We are looking to fill year-by-year in the coming classes, with the first cohort graduating in 2027. As a new program, we are excited to build a new and unique program with community-oriented goals. Our residents receive outstanding clinical training at Desert Regional Medical Center (DRMC) and our affiliated training institutions:

• Loma Linda University Medical Center (LLUMC); Housing and transportation provided
• Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC); Housing and transportation provided
• City of Hope (COH); Housing and transportation provided
• Riverside University Health System (RUHS)

DRMC’s Level 1 trauma center is the busiest in Riverside County, with 5,000 trauma activations per year. The Critical Care Fellowship is also an integral part of the training program. The institutions listed provide immersion in all modes of practice that residents may use to hone their career paths. In addition to gaining experience in a wide breadth of general surgery cases, residents also participate in complex surgical oncology cases at City of Hope.

Robotic surgery is part of our curriculum. DRMC already approved the purchase of a second DaVinci console dedicated to teaching. This will allow residents upon completion of the 5-year residency program, the chance to become certified in Robotic Surgery.

Our program has a strong commitment to the underserved population of Coachella Valley and Riverside County, making a positive impact on a large multi-cultural population. Therefore our goal is to train surgeons who may want to stay in the area and serve this community, or to pursue a subspecialty. The faculty have strong relationships with academic programs to help aid in achieving aspirational goals, and residents will be prepared to be able to compete with the best programs in the country.

Our General Surgery Residency program already has an agreement for an international rotation with Ecuador (Cuenca). This is going to be effective when our program achieves the full accreditation for ACGME, and would be for a PGY-4 and PGY-5 rotation. The option for a year in research is a possibility with the growth of our program.

About Desert Regional Medical Center:

• Offers Residency programs in Emergency Medicine and Family Medicine
• Level 1 Trauma Center:
  • 5,000 trauma cases a year; busiest trauma center in Riverside County
  • 1,050 Trauma related surgical procedures
  • Busy Emergency General Surgery Services
• Surgical Critical Care Fellowships

Hector Daniel Ludi, MD

Program Director
General Surgery Residency, Desert Regional Medical Center

Current Positions:

• Assistant Trauma Medical Director; Desert Trauma Surgeons, Palm Springs, CA

Board Certification: General Surgery, Surgical Critical Care

Fellowship: Trauma and Surgical Critical Care, University of California San Diego Health, San Diego, CA

Residency: General Surgery, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA

Medical School: Cordoba University Medical School of Medicine, Cordoba, Argentina

Applications

The General Surgery program participates exclusively with the National Resident Matching Program (NMRP) and can be found on Electronic Residency Application Service. You may apply through the dean’s office at your medical school.

Interviews

Scheduled in October through mid-December, and are offered to applicants who have submitted an application through ERAS. Applications sent by fax or email will not be considered.

The interview day starts at 8:00am and concludes by 2:00pm PST, lasting approximately 20 minutes, three days per week. The itinerary includes:

• Interviews with faculty, including program leadership
• Meet and greet with current residents
• Lunch with residents and faculty
• Tour of Desert Regional Medical Center

General Surgery Curriculum

The curriculum for Desert Regional Medical Center has been designed to meet ACGME accreditation standards, and utilize the clinical strengths of the hospital faculty to produce quality trained physicians.

Didactic Curriculum

The didactic curriculum is delivered through a combination of SCORE curriculum, weekly skills labs, journal club, grand rounds, and mortality and morbidity conferences. Oral board simulation occurs on a quarterly basis. The TrueLearn General Surgery will be weekly, ABSITE review bi-monthly, with the in-service exam occurring on an annual basis. Residents are expected to maintain active certification in BLS, ACLC, and PALS.

General Surgery Core Faculty

• Hector Ludi, MD; Program Director

BRYAN LOVE, MD

Current Position:

• Chief Medical Officer, Desert Trauma Surgeons, Palm Springs, CA
• Trauma Medical Director, Saint Mary Medical Center, Long Beach, CA
• Assistant Trauma Medical Director, St. Francis Medical Center, Lynwood, CA
  • Vice Chair, Department of Surgery
• Surgical Critical Care Fellowship Core Faculty, Desert Regional Medical Center, Palm Springs, CA

Board Certification: General Surgery, Surgical Critical Care

Fellowship: Trauma and Surgical Critical Care, LAC+USC Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA

Residency: General Surgery, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA

Internship: General Surgery, Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA

Medical School: Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA

PETER M JAMIESON, MD, FACS

Current Position:

• Chairman of the Surgery Department, Desert Regional Medical Center, Palm Springs, CA

Board Certification: General Surgery

Residency: General Surgery, Prince George’s Hospital Center, Cheverly, MD

Medical School: Universidad del Noreste School of Medicine, Tampico, Mexico

AARON STRUMWASSER, MD, MS, FACS

Current Position:

• President, Desert Trauma Surgeons, Palm Springs, CA
• Trauma Medical Director, St. Francis Medical Center, Lynnwood, CA
• Surgical Critical Care Core Faculty, Desert Regional Medical Center, Palm Springs, CA

Board Certification: General Surgery. Surgical Critical Care

Fellowship: Trauma and Surgical Critical Care, LAC+USC Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA

Residency: General Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, CA

Medical School: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA

KYRILLOS AWAD, DO

Current Position:

• General Surgery Residency Core Faculty, Desert Regional Medical Center, Palm Springs, CA

Board Certification: General Surgery

Fellowship: Surgical Critical Care, Carilion Clinic Roanoke, VA

Residency: General Surgery, John A Burns School of Medicine, Honolulu, HI

Internship: General Surgery, University of California Irvine Medical Center, Orange CA

Medical School: Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Philadelphia, PA

JOHN WOODS, DO, FACS

Current Position:

• Trauma Medical Director, Desert Regional Medical Center, Palm Springs, CA
• Assistant Program Director, Surgical Care, Desert Regional Medical Center, Palm Springs, CA
• Assistant Professor of Surgery, Western University College of Osteopathic Medicine, Pomona, CA

Board Certification: General Surgery, Surgical Critical Care

Fellowship: Trauma and Surgical Critical Care, university of California San Diego Health, San Diego, CA

Residency: General Surgery, Geisinger Health System, Wilkes Barre, PA

Medical School: Nova Southeastern University School of Osteopathic Medicine, Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Non-Core Faculty

William Butler, MD (General Surgery)
Monica Camelo, MD (General Surgery, Colorectal Surgery)
Andrew Fragen, MD (General Surgery)
Milton Retamozo, MD (General Surgery)
Kristen Stevens, MD (General Surgery)
Danielle Vanderet, DO (General Surgery, Trauma/ Surgical Critical Care)
Arun Kumar Thunga, MD (Anesthesiologist)
Homan A. Zadeh, MD (Gastroenterology, Internal Medicine)

Desert Regional Medical Center
2024-2025 General Surgery Residency Program

First Year Residents

Second Year Residents

Third Year Residents