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Our ACGME accredited Surgical Critical Care Fellowship is a one-year, multi-disciplinary program that provides a robust, broad-based training in the heart of Asheville, NC. Mission Hospital is an accredited Level I Trauma Center that serves as the main tertiary care center for all of Western Northern Carolina, rendering it one of the busiest hospitals in the state. The 20-bed Surgical and Trauma ICU provides exposure to a wide variety of pathologies including severely injured trauma, complex general surgery, surgical oncology, hepatobiliary, vascular, Ob/Gyn, and neuro-critical care patients.
Our Surgical Critical Care fellowship program provides an invaluable, hands-on, educational opportunity to learn from our exceptional faculty, which consists of Trauma and Acute Care Surgeons who are all board certified in Surgical Critical Care. In addition to gaining proficiency in managing critically ill patients, there are also many opportunities to expand teaching skills with residents and medical students, as well as research opportunities and the option to participate in national meetings. Last, but not least, there is access to a world-class simulation lab with structured support.
We look forward to hearing from you and telling you more about our program!
Sincerely,
Karole Davis, MD, FACS Program Director, Surgical Critical Care Fellowship
Excellence: We are committed to delivering high-quality, evidence-informed services and activities that meet the evolving needs of our communities and partners.
Belonging: We actively foster environments where everyone feels valued, respected, and empowered to thrive.
Integrity: We lead with transparency, fairness, and a strong ethical foundation in all our decisions and actions.
Collaboration: We embrace partnerships across professions and communities to drive collective impact.
Innovation and Growth: We remain agile and forward-thinking, continuously improving through learning, creativity, and responsiveness.
Civility: We uphold a culture of mutual respect, empathy, and professionalism in all interactions.
Empowerment Through Accountability: We cultivate ownership, engagement, and shared responsibility in fulfilling MAHEC’s mission and stewarding its resources.
Our Commitment
MAHEC is committed to inspiring and equipping the next generation of healthcare professionals and expanding access to care for all. Our vision is to create a healthier community in Western North Carolina and beyond.
This ACGME-accredited fellowship is devoted to broad-based intensive clinical training primarily based in the neuro-trauma ICU (NTICU) at Mission Hospital. The mission of the surgical critical care fellowship program is to provide an educational environment to develop the skills for state-of-the-art support of human physiology under the stress of extreme illness, injury, or surgery; provide compassionate and humanistic care to those individuals with critical surgical illness; and provide an environment for the development of a program optimized for clinical basic scientists who will become leaders in the arena of multidisciplinary critical care medicine.
Mission Hospital is licensed for 815 beds with 47 operating rooms and a new critical care tower
Mission Children’s Hospital includes 130 beds with 60 board-certified pediatric subspecialists providing care in 23 different specialties
Emergency Department has 100,000 patient visits per year, the trauma center admits 3,400 patients per year, and the helicopter transports more than 1,000 patients per year
Faculty includes 12 critical care-certified acute care surgeons, 11 subspecialty surgeons, 2 pediatric surgeons, and 5 vascular surgeons
At more than 35,000 surgical procedures each year, Mission Hospital is one of the busiest surgical hospitals in the state of North Carolina
Surgical critical care fellows will work together with attending physicians, general surgery residents, advanced practice providers, medical students, and other members of the interdisciplinary clinical team. Education and research remains a high priority for all members of the service at all times. Opportunities for participation in clinical research activities and publications will be available throughout the year depending on the fellow's interests. Upon completing the surgical critical care fellowship program, the fellow will be fully qualified to obtain board certification and to enter either private or academic practice in surgical critical care.
Program Director, Surgical Critical Care Fellowship
Karole Davis, MD, is a general and critical care surgeon with Mission Hospital in Asheville, NC. Dr. Davis attended medical school at the University of St. Eustatius and completed her General Surgery Residency at Maricopa Integrated Health System in Phoenix, AZ. Upon graduating from residency, she went on to complete a Fellowship in Surgical Critical Care, Trauma, and Acute Care Surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She is board-certified in both General Surgery and Surgical Critical Care. Dr. Davis has many years of experience in teaching as she served as an Instructor of Surgery at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine from 2013-2014, was the Associate Program Director for the General Surgery Residency Program at Maricopa Integrated Health System (now known as Creighton University Phoenix) from 2014-2020, and held Assistant Professor faculty positions at University of Arizona School of Medicine, Midwestern University School of Medicine, and Creighton University Phoenix School of Medicine.
Director of Wellness & Mentoring
Trauma Surgery Faculty
Dr. Elaine Chan is board certified by the American Board of Surgery in General Surgery and Surgical Critical Care. She completed her undergraduate studies at New York University and her medical education at State University of New York Downstate Medical Center. Her internship and general surgery residency were completed at St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital In New York City. She completed a fellowship in Trauma Surgery at Emory University - Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, GA, and a fellowship in Surgical Critical Care at Jackson Memorial Hospital - Ryder Trauma Medical Center in Miami, FL. She continued as assistant professor of surgery at Temple University Hospital before transitioning to locums for several years. Currently, she is an adjunct professor of surgery at Mission Hospital in Asheville, NC, where she serves as Director of Wellness for the MAHEC surgery residents and is also clerkship director for the Asheville cohort of UNC SOM third-year medical students.
Brant Clatterbuck, MD, is a general surgeon specializing in Acute Care Surgery, trauma, and Surgical Critical Care. He graduated from the University of Illinois College of Medicine - Peoria. From there, he completed general surgery residency at Grand Strand Medical Center in Myrtle Beach, SC, followed by an Acute Care Surgery Fellowship at Emory University and Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, GA. Dr. Clatterbuck is enthusiastic about helping patients who have suffered trauma and surgical emergencies and enjoys managing complex surgical ICU patients.
Red Hoffman, MD is a general surgeon at Mission Hospital in Asheville. Dr. Hoffman graduated Medical School from Oregon Health and Science University School of Medicine and completed her Residency in General Surgery at Maricopa Integrated Health System. Upon Residency graduation, Dr. Hoffman went onto complete a Fellowship in Surgical Critical Care at the University of North Carolina, and an additional Fellowship in Palliative Care at Mountain Area Health Education Center. Dr. Hoffman’s focus of patient care is in General Surgery, Palliative Care, and Trauma.
Jonas Karlsson, MD is a general surgeon at Mission Hospital. Dr. Karlsson graduated from Medical School at the Ross University School of Medicine in Portsmouth, Dominica and completed a Preliminary General Surgery Internship at the Mayo Clinic as well as a Residency in General Surgery at the University of Illinois, Chicago. Upon Residency graduation, Dr. Karlsson went on to complete a Fellowship in Surgical Critical Care/Acute Care Surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr. Karlsson has experience in teaching as he served as an Instructor of Surgery at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine from 2012-2013.
Dr. Kopelman is a general and critical care surgeon with Mission Hospital. She attended medical school at the University of Miami School of Medicine and remained at the University of Miami to complete her residency in general surgery as well as both her fellowship in Surgical Critical Care and her fellowship in Trauma and Emergency General Surgery. She has held academic appointments at the Medical College of South Carolina and the University of South Carolina School of Medicine in addition to being faculty at Greenville Memorial Hospital (1997-2002) and the University of Arizona Medical School while faculty at Maricopa Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona (2003-2018). Dr. Kopelman’s focus on patient care is in Surgical Critical Care, Emergency General Surgery, and Trauma.
Richard Massen, MD, is a general surgeon at Mission Hospital. Dr. Massen graduated Medical School at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn and completed his Residency in Internal Medicine at Bellevue Hospital in New York. He also completed a Residency in General Surgery at Mount Sinai School of Medicine as well as a Fellowship in Surgical Critical Care at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine. Prior to joining the Trauma Services Team at Mission Hospital, Dr. Massen worked as a general surgeon at Holy Cross Hospital in New Mexico from 2007-2013 and at the University of New Mexico Health Science Center from 2005-2007.
Nicholas Osevala, MD, is a general and critical care surgeon at Mission Hospital in Asheville, NC. He graduated medical school from Temple University Hospital and stayed to complete residency in General Surgery. Upon graduation, Dr. Osevala transitioned to a fellowship in Surgical Critical Care at Duke University Hospital. His patient care focus is in acute care surgery and surgical critical care.
Dr. Schurr is a general and critical care surgeon with Mission Hospital and is the Program Director for the General Surgery Residency Program. Dr. Schurr attended medical school at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and completed his residency in general surgery at the University of Wisconsin. He completed a fellowship in trauma and critical care at the University of Tennessee, Memphis. He has held numerous academic positions, at the University of Wisconsin from 1995–2011 and Professor of Surgery at the University of Colorado from 2011–2014.
Dr. Schurr has been an active clinician and teacher since he completed his fellowship, teaching students, residents, and fellows. He has published over 60 articles and has ongoing clinical trials underway at Mission Hospital.
Program Director, General Surgery Residency
Trauma Surgery Faculty, Department Chair
Courtney Sommer, MD is a general surgeon at Mission Hospital in Asheville. She also serves as the Program Director for the General Surgery Residency. Dr. Sommer graduated Medical School from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and completed her Residency in General Surgery at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Upon Residency graduation, Dr. Sommer went onto complete a Fellowship in Surgical Critical Care at the University of Washington. Dr. Sommer’s focus of patient care is in General Surgery and Trauma.
Mission Hospital acknowledges the importance of trauma research in our trauma program. The Trauma Services Department has a dedicated research office equipped with secure file storage, access to statistical software, and local and national library resources, highlighting our commitment to ethical research. The organizational research program partners with MAHEC, which provides local oversight committees and an Institutional Review Board to ensure the protection of human subjects and sensitive health information. Our strong infrastructure offers comprehensive support for various research projects.
Program leaders collaborate with our organizational research program to identify research opportunities and facilitate data collection, analysis, and writing to generate research. Collaboration extends to trauma medical directors, surgeons, and residents, promoting teamwork across various research projects, protocol development, and manuscript reviews. Furthermore, engagement with program directors, educators, and coordinators facilitates the exchange of research ideas, particularly focusing on education, outreach, injury prevention, and quality improvement initiatives across multiple disciplines.
Our research program's reach extends significantly through our collaboration with the HCA Center for Trauma and Acute Care Surgery (CTACS). This partnership enhances multi-center and multi-disciplinary collaboration, resource sharing, and research education. The collaboration provides us with access to national databases, basic science laboratories, statistical assistance, and expertise in epidemiology and artificial intelligence (AI). This expanded access to resources and expertise significantly broadens our research opportunities beyond our institution.
Our success is evident through our collaborative research communities, reflected in increased publications, diversified research interests, and heightened engagement of medical professionals. Positive collaborations within internal departments enhance cooperation in trauma research, contributing to advancements in the field. Resident and fellow involvement in trauma research activities is actively encouraged.
Application Requirements
If you are interested in applying to our program, please submit your application online via SAFAS.
Applicants must have satisfactorily completed three years training in anesthesiology, emergency medicine, neurological surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, orthopaedic surgery, otolaryngology, surgery, thoracic surgery, vascular surgery, or urology
Have DEA certification
Be eligible to obtain a license to practice medicine in North Carolina through the NC Medical Board
Additionally, MAHEC requires:
Curriculum Vitae (CV)
Personal statement
Three letters of recommendation (one should be from a residency program director)
Medical school transcript(s)
Current licensure information
An on-site interview in Asheville
Questions regarding the application process should be directed to surgery@mahec.net.
VISA Sponsorship
MAHEC does not directly sponsor residents or fellows that need a J-1 Sponsorship VISA. Non-U.S. citizen applicants needing visa sponsorship must secure this directory from the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG). The ECFMG is authorized by the U.S. Department of State to sponsor foreign national physicians for the J-1 Exchange Visitor visa for the purpose of participating in U.S. programs of graduate medical education or training. ECFMG is designated by the U.S. Department of State as a BridgeUSA sponsor for J-1 exchange visitor physicians enrolled in accredited programs of graduate medical education or training, or advanced research programs (involving primarily observation, consultation, teaching, or research). Although many universities and research institutions in the United States are authorized to sponsor exchange visitors as research scholars, ECFMG is the sole sponsor of J-1 physicians in clinical training programs.
Questions regarding VISA Sponsorship should be directed to the GME office at 828-232-2946 or gme@mahec.net.
Karole Davis, MD, FACS
Kelci Dishner, AS
Elaine Chan, MD, FACS
Brant Clatterbuck, MD
Lance Griffin, MD, FACS
Red Hoffman, MD, FACS
Jonas Karlsson, MD, FACS
Tammy Kopelman, MD, FACS
Richard Massen, MD, FACS
Nicholas Osevala, MD
Michael Schurr, MD, FACS
Courtney Sommer, MD, FACS
