The goal of the Surgical Critical Care Fellowship Program at UC San Diego Medical Center, Department of Surgery, is to provide an outstanding exposure to complex surgical critical care and develop administrative skills compatible with making residents able to emerge into a leadership role. Specific educational agenda and set of core didactic experiences have been developed to assure that the aspects of critical care that are core to this understanding and the skills essential to delivering excellent critical care are provided. The accredited program offers four clinical positions / year (PGY-6 and above). An optional second year with a focus on research (clinical or basic sciences), performance improvement, trauma systems, prevention, and outreach is offered to outstanding fellows who want to pursue a career and become leaders in the field.