Surgical Critical Care Fellowship

About Us

Cleveland Clinic Akron General (CCAG) offers a 1-year ACGME-accredited fellowship in Surgical Critical Care (SCC). This educational journey consists of a combination of clinical and career mentorship along with administrative and educational responsibilities. As this fellowship progress through the year, the fellow level of responsibility grows across all aspects of critical care.

Candidates for the fellowship will have successfully completed 5 years of US postgraduate training by the time of entry into the fellowship program. The fellow will have the opportunity to manage most complex trauma and emergency general surgery patients in tertiary care settings. To enhance their professional development, our fellows will administer and supervise surgical critical care units and conduct scholarly activities.

The goal of this fellowship is to prepare surgeons for careers choice in academic surgery or private practice. One of the biggest strengths of our SCC fellowship is the excellent collaborative experience with other critical care units and various surgical services. The fellow rotations include 10 four-weeks in the field of critical care including SICU, CVICU and MICU.

Electives include:

• Acute Care Surgery
• Trauma Surgery
• Neuro-ICU
• Supplemental month of SICU, MICU or CVICU

Upon successful completion of the surgical critical care fellowship, trainees are eligible to take the Surgical Critical Care Certifying Examination.

Thank you for your interest in our fellowship program. 

For more information, contact Daniel Vazquez, MD at vazqued@ccf.org or Kim Martter at selfmak@ccf.org.

Welcome

Dear Candidate,

Thank you for your interest in our accredited Surgical Critical Care Fellowship.

Cleveland Clinic Akron General is committed to education at many levels. It is affiliated with Northeastern Ohio College of Medicine (NEOMED) and Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine (OUHCOM) and has many successful residencies. This allows the fellow ample teaching opportunities to medical students on their surgical rotation and the surgical residents, as well as other learners.

Fellows rotate through all required rotations and experiences as set forth by the ACGME. The fellow can expect to have regularly scheduled lectures addressing the multidisciplinary approach to surgical critical care. It is required that the fellow participate in research and journal clubs and there is support from a dedicated doctorate-level health scientist.

Our mission is to provide our graduates with the necessary training to provide excellent, compassionate, and multidisciplinary care for their future patients.

We welcome your interest in our program and look forward to meeting you.

Sincerely,

Daniel E. Vazquez, MD, FACS
Program Director, Surgical Critical Care Fellowship

Kim Martter, MA ED, RHIA
Program Manager, General Surgery
Phone: 330.344.6741
Email: selfmak@ccf.org

Application

Thank you for your interest in Cleveland Clinic Akron General and hope that we've provided you with the information you need to choose the right fellowship program.

Cleveland Clinic Akron General is able to offer an exceptional Graduate Medical Education experience because of our knowledgeable and hard-working staff. Cleveland Clinic Akron General is recognized regionally and within Ohio for its expertise and care. We maintain a standard of excellence that promises nothing but the best care for our patients and therefore, nothing but the best education for our medical students, residents and fellows.

Life in Akron has so much to offer! Learn more about Greater Akron and be sure to follow us on Facebook.

Fellowship applications must be submitted online at National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) and SCC and ACS Fellowship Application Service (SAFAS)

Application deadline: July 31, 2025

Appointment Year 2026:

March 1, 2025: SAFAS Open (Do not start new application prior to March 1)
July 2, 2025: Ranking opens for NRMP SCC Match: [ NRMP ]
July 31, 2025: SAFAS application deadline
August 13, 2025: NRMP SC'C ROL deadline
August 27, 2025: NRMP SCC Match Day

SAFAS will remain Open for post-Match Unfilled Positions

Interview Dates: TBD, Interviews will be held via Thalamus

Expected Program Length: 1 year

Eligible candidates

The Surgical Critical Care Fellowship is open to candidates who have completed a five-year ACGME accredited Surgery program, who are board certified or eligible for board certification in Surgery, and who are eligible for Ohio medical licensure. Fellows will be expected to obtain a full medical license to practice in the state of Ohio.

Teaching Faculty

We are committed to providing excellent clinical exposure, as well as direct expert instruction, promoting self-directed education, and fostering the refinement of the fellow' scientific and academic pursuits. In addition to the world-class training, we provide an inclusive culture for patients, residents and fellows, employees, business partners and the communities served by Cleveland Clinic.

Program Director

• Daniel E. Vazquez, MD

Core Faculty

• Ali Mallat, MD, Associate Program Director
• Farid Muakkassa, MD
• Christopher Wolff, MD
• Michaelia Cucci, PharmD

Faculty

• William Leukhardt, MD
• Amy Jarvis, MD

Research & Innovations

The Surgical Critical Care Fellowship at Cleveland Clinic Akron General adheres to the ACGME’s requirements for scholarly activity, which are as follows:

Fellow Scholarly Activity, I.V.D.3, pg. 25

Fellow(s) must demonstrate scholarship by one or more of the following annually:

• Participation in quality improvement and/or patient safety projects and/or publications.
• Participation in the development of curricular materials.
• Participation in local, regional, national committees, or other activities related to educational organizations.
• Non-peer-reviewed publications.
• Publication or presentation of case reports or clinical series at local, regional, or national professional and scientific society meetings.
• Publication of original research or review articles in peer-reviewed journals or chapters in textbooks.
• Peer-reviewed funding or publication.

Scholarship takes many forms, and our goal is to work with our fellows to create a custom program through which fellows work toward their career goals while fulfilling this requirement. The critical care fellow will work with a team of providers with diverse educational and scholarly interests and has dedicated support from our Health Sciences department.

Teaching faculty research interests are ultimately geared toward improving patient care, improving long-term outcomes, and preventing injury through education and outreach.

Cleveland Clinic Akron General surgery accreditations

• ACS accredited Level 1 Trauma center for a large integrated healthcare system with three Level 2 trauma centers across Northeast Ohio.
• ACS accredited Level 1 Geriatric Surgery center. We are the first hospital in Ohio and the ninth in the nation to achieve this designation.
• Chest Wall Injury Society accredited Chest Wall Injury Collaborative Center.

Research resources

• Dedicated PhD-level research guidance.
• Dedicated analysts to work within the electronic medical record for data collection.
• Dedicated medical student rotations in Surgical Critical Care/Trauma to assist with project completion.
• Dedicated medical library services for study and manuscript preparation.
• Collaborative research environment with multiple residencies, including general surgery, emergency medicine, orthopedic surgery, internal medicine, and pharmacy.
• Active participation in regional trauma organizations.
• Access to the Trauma Quality Improvement Program database through 2022.

Daniel Vazquez, MD
Program Director, Surgical Critical Care Fellowship
vazqued@ccf.org

Jessica Krizo, PhD
Health Scientist
krizoj@ccf.org

Scholarly activity

Marcel Nwizu, Thomas Weiner, Tony Downs, Jessica Krizo, Caroline Mangira, Stacy Cowan, Ali Mallat, Ashley Heaney, Impact of Triage Systems on Time to Diagnosis and Treatment of Traumatic Brain Injuries,

The Journal of Emergency Medicine, online ahead of print, 2023, ISSN 0736-4679.

Nguyen TNM, Disabato DJ, Gunstad J, Delahanty DL, George R, Muakkassa F, Mallat AF, Coifman KG. Can the positive buffer the negative? Testing the impact of protective childhood experiences on adjustment in adults following trauma exposure. Anxiety Stress Coping. 2024 Jan;37(1):60-76.

Kanis E, Gallegos P, Christman K, Vazquez D, Mullen C, Cucci MD. Impact of medication intensification on 30-day hospital readmissions in a geriatric trauma population: A multicenter cohort study. Pharmacotherapy. 2024 Jan;44(1):39-48.

Shariff M, Kumar A, Stulak JM. Twenty-year United States national, demographic and regional mortality trends from traumatic thoracic aortic injury, 1999 to 2019. Injury. 2024 Jan;55(1).

Bolt B, Muakkassa F, Bruening L, Marcus C, Cunningham B, Pawlak E, Gandee R, Newey C. Cardiac Oscillations Complicating Brain Death Diagnosis. Case Rep Crit Care. 2023 Sep 11;2023.

Chang AJ, Mallat AF, Edwards MJ, Gabra JN, Cucci MD. Evaluation of pre-hospital cannabis exposure and hospital opioid utilization in a trauma population: A retrospective cohort. Injury. 2023 Dec 30:111305.

Downs T, Jacquet J, Disch J, Kolodychuk N, Talmage L, Krizo J, Simon EL, Meehan A, Stenberg R. Large-scale Implementation of Fascia Iliaca Compartment Blocks in an Emergency Department. West J Emerg Med. 2023 May 3;24(3):384-389.

Cucci MD, Gerlach AT, Mangira C, Murphy CV, Roberts JA, Udy AA, Dowling TC, Mullen CL. Performance of different body weights in the Cockcroft-Gault equation in critically ill patients with and without augmented renal clearance: A multicenter cohort. Pharmacotherapy. 2023 Nov;43(11):1131-1138.

Meehan AJ, Gabra JN, Distelhorst KS, Whyde C, Mangira C. Development and validation of a delirium risk prediction model using a modified version of the Delirium Elderly at Risk (mDEAR) screen in hospitalized patients aged 65 and older: A medical record review. Geriatr Nurs. 2023 May-Jun;51:150-155.

Badrinathan A, Ho VP, Tinkoff G, Houck O, Vazquez D, Gerrek M, Kessler A, Rushing A. Are we waiting for the sky to fall? Predictors of withdrawal of life-sustaining support in older trauma patients: A retrospective analysis. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2023 Mar 1;94(3):385-391.

Grossman M, See AP, Mannix R, Simon EL. Complete Neurological Recovery After Emergency Burr Hole Placement Utilizing EZ-IO® for Epidural Hematoma. J Emerg Med. 2022 Oct;63(4):557-560.

Wu SS, Wells M, Ascha M, Duggal R, Gatherwright J, Chepla K. Head and Neck Wound Reconstruction Using Biodegradable Temporizing Matrix Versus Collagen-Chondroitin Silicone Bilayer. Eplasty. 2022 Aug 2.

Wu SS, Wells M, Ascha M, Gatherwright J, Chepla KJ. Upper Extremity Wounds Treated with Biodegradable Temporizing Matrix versus Collagen-Chondroitin Silicone Bilayer. J Hand Microsurg. 2022 Jun 1;15(5):340-350.

Lin S, Cunningham B, Mullen C, Simon E, Bice D, Garlock J. Comparison of 4F-PCC and aPCC time to administration and outcomes for oral anticoagulant-related ICH. Am J Emerg Med. 2022 Jun;56:183-187.

Wolff C, Muakkassa F, Marley R, El-Khatib A, Docherty C, Muakkassa L, Stephen H, Salvator A. Routine platelet transfusion in patients with traumatic intracranial hemorrhage taking antiplatelet medication: Is it warranted? Can J Surg. 2022 Mar 15;65(2).

Moran ME, Moore D, Krizo J, Keefe J, Houck OC, Rossler DN, George RL. Multiregion Trauma Center Follow-Up Protocol for Transferred Trauma Patients. J Trauma Nurs. 2022 Mar-Apr 01;29(2):97-100.