Department Mission and Vision

The faculty, residents, and staff of the Department of Surgery at the University of Minnesota are committed to nurturing and supporting excellence in patient care, education, and translational research.   

The mission of our department is to

• provide outstanding, empathetic care to each of our patients at all times and to transmit that same conscientious attitude in our local, regional, national, and international communities
• train our fellows, surgical residents, and medical students with the highest level of professionalism in patient care and scientific inquiry
• encourage innovation and research discovery at every level and to translate new ideas to our patients through clinical trials and therapeutic expertise
• achieve recognition as one of the best academic departments of surgery by 2016, locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally

The vision of our department is to be the best academic department of surgery in the world by 2016, recognized locally, nationally, and internationally for achieving its mission and creating a culture of surgical excellence.  To achieve this vision, we will

• attract and support the best faculty, best trainees, and best health care professionals, educators, researchers, and staff
• attain standards for clinical care, patient safety, surgical innovation, productive research, effective teaching, and novel surgical training that can serve as national benchmarks
• meet or exceed the expectations of  patients and referring health professionals for surgical clinical services
• collaborate with colleagues in the University of Minnesota Academic Health Center, UMPhysicians, the private practice community, affiliated hospitals, and other entities to enhance quality across departments, service lines, programs, and institutions
• meet the surgical workforce needs and the tertiary referral health care needs of Minnesota and the upper Midwest
• shape the United States health system to be more effective, equitable, efficient, safe, timely, and patient-centered