CARLEGENERAL SURGERY RESIDENCY PROGRAM
STITCH LEAGUE
One league.
Four houses.
Four traditions. One surgical family. A year-long pursuit of excellence, camaraderie, scholarship, and honor.
The call begins
Before the first incision,
there is a discovery.
Every surgeon begins the same way, uncertain. The STITCH League reveals the strengths residents already carry and gives them a house in which those strengths can flourish.
Residents compete, collaborate, learn, and serve. The goal is not simply to win the Chalice of Champions, it is to become thoughtful leaders, dependable teammates, and compassionate physicians.
“Your house does not define who you are. It reveals the strengths you bring.”
The League at a glance
One tradition.
A year of becoming.
The Great Hall of Operatia
Where the four
Houses assemble.
Four standards. Four traditions. One League united by a shared pursuit of surgical excellence.
The house-sorting ceremony
The Pager
Prophecy
At the start of residency, each new surgeon receives the Sacred Pager. Its signal reveals the House where their natural strengths can grow.
INCOMING TRANSMISSION · 07:00THE PAGER CALLS. YOUR HOUSE AWAITS.
How the sorting works
The Pager reveals what is already within.
The Pager Prophecy is the STITCH League’s sorting tradition. Its call recognizes each resident’s defining strengths and welcomes them into the House that will become their team throughout residency.
THE PROPHECY HAS SPOKEN
You were not chosen because you are finished.
You were chosen because you are becoming.The six pillars
The six pillars
of STITCH League.
A standardized reference board for how each House earns honor. Use it to review pillar purpose, qualifying activities, and point values.
The pillar of
Duty
Reliability in the work that sustains the team.
How your House earns honorPoints
Monthly duty hour logs completed25
Duty hour logs completed for the academic year500
Monthly surgical case logs submitted25
Case logs completed for the academic year500
>250 total cases by end of PGY-2200
>850 total cases by end of PGY-5200
Monthly evaluations completed25
Monthly clinic day requirements completed25
Clinic requirements completed for the academic year50
Committee meeting participation10
The pillar of
Knowledge
Learning that compounds and is shared forward.
How your House earns honorPoints
Minimum 3 EPAs per week completed for the month20
Each 50 EPAs completed100
Journal Club presentation10
Grand Rounds presentation20
TrueLearn question completed1
All TrueLearn questions completed before ABSITE100
SCORE question completed1
Core Curriculum lecture delivered10
ABSITE predicted standard, >90% probability of passing50
ABSITE predicted standard, >95% probability of passing75
ABSITE predicted standard, >99% probability of passing100
Bedside procedure card completed10
All bedside procedure cards completed for the year100
Verified operative proficiency completed10
All verified operative proficiencies completed for the year100
The pillar of
Clinical Excellence
Skill, compassion, teamwork, and trust.
How your House earns honorPoints
Positive patient or staff review, Gold Star20
Exceptional teamwork recognition, Way to Be5
FLS passed on first attempt100
FES passed on first attempt100
The pillar of
Discovery
Curiosity transformed into better care.
How your House earns honorPoints
Quality improvement project led50
Abstract submitted to a conference or journal100
Research accepted for publication300
Research presented locally or regionally200
Research presented nationally or internationally300
The pillar of
Service
Compassion in action, inside and beyond the hospital.
How your House earns honorPoints
Wellness activity program participation25
Community service or outreach participation25
Pre-interview social hosted or attended25
Residency social media post20
The pillar of
Challenge
Courage built through trials, teamwork, and play.
How your House earns honorPoints
Surgical Olympics eventTBD
Winter Wellness Week eventTBD
Spirit Week eventTBD
Where houses are tested
The League
in action.
Points are earned in the work of residency and in the shared trials that turn a class into a team.
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Keeper's chargeThe Pager Calls. The Ledger Remembers.
Keeper of the League
The STITCH
Master
Robert John Yu, MD
Associate Program Director, Carle General Surgery Residency Program
The STITCH Master safeguards the traditions of the League, resolves disputes, crowns each year’s champions, and keeps every house focused on the purpose behind the competition.
“Compete with purpose. Support each other. Lead with integrity. Become legendary.”
The Ledger awaits
Every act of excellence
adds to the story.
Answer the call, honor your House, and help write the next chapter of the STITCH League.