The Lakeland Regional Health Surgical Critical Care fellowship program is a one-year ACGME-accredited fellowship. Our goal is to teach critical care skills, and foster intellectually curious, clinically capable and patient-family centered surgical critical care intensivists able to lead the multi-disciplinary approach to the care of the acutely-ill and injured.
The primary mission of the Surgical Critical Care Fellowship Program is to educate, mentor, and develop surgical critical care physicians who deliver outstanding, efficient medical care with compassion, integrity, and respect. With a community-focused program centered on developing community hospital leaders, fellows will learn the practical aspects of surgical critical care while using the most up-to-date practices and evidence-based medicine. Our graduates will be well-prepared for careers within the community and academic environment. Through a focused and robust clinical and didactic curriculum, mentoring from ABS/AOBS certified faculty members with a variety of backgrounds and expertise and bedside learning, our fellows will be well-prepared for independent practice.
Lakeland Regional Medical Center is the primary clinical site for the Surgical Critical Care Fellowship Program. As one of Florida’s largest hospitals, with 910 beds, Lakeland Regional Medical Center has ample opportunity for fellows to gain hands-on clinical experience with an array of patients. In an effort to maintain continuity of care, all Surgical Critical Care rotations will occur at the Lakeland Regional Medical Center. The hospital has received numerous from Forbes, Gallup, and Becker’s Hospital Review. The Surgical Critical Care fellows at Lakeland Regional Health will have access to an exceptional assortment of resources that will aid in their training.
Lakeland Regional Health is one of Forbes Best-in-State Employers for 2022. We aim to remain thriving workplace for everyone on our team. We are excited to welcome our residents into our organization and support their personal and professional growth.
Surgical Critical Care fellows will participate in a robust educational program, including surgical critical care journal club. The fellows’ responsibilities also include and teaching residents, staff and students. Fellows also attend the weekly morbidity and mortality conference and actively participate in hospital meetings and research.
Elective ICU (1 – 2 months)
Tailored to the career goals of the fellow.
Program Director, Surgical Critical Care
Associate Program Director, Surgical Critical Care
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Olumide Sobowale, MD is a double board-certified surgical critical care and trauma surgeon at Lakeland Regional Health. Dr. Sobowale specializes in Trauma/Acute Care Surgery, General Surgery, and Surgical Critical Care. Dr. Sobowale cares for patients seeking urgent, emergent, and elective surgery. Additionally, he cares for patients needing surgery for trauma injuries and who are acutely ill and need surgical intervention. Dr. Sobowale completed medical school at Howard University College of Medicine and completed his two residencies at the University of Connecticut and the University of Florida Health Science Center. Additionally, he competed his fellowship at Hartford Hospital.
Dr. Sobowale enjoys treating patients and having the capacity to intervene acutely to stop further deterioration of someone’s physiology. He aims to help them recover from an unexpected event. He is additionally interested in the abdominal wall reconstruction of traumatically injured person.
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Andrew Gaugler, DO, FACS is a board-certified surgeon at Lakeland Regional Health. Dr. Gaugler has special clinical interest in chest wall reconstruction after injury and prehospital trauma care. He earned his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree from Nova Southeastern University and completed his internship and Residency in General Surgery at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Additionally, he completed a Fellowship in Trauma and Surgical Critical Care at the University of Miami Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital. Dr. Gaugler specializes in Emergency General Surgery and Trauma.
Dr. Gaugler enjoys seeing patients return to the lives they lived prior to being injured. Trauma surgery starts with saving life and limb, but his ultimate goal is for our patients to get back to their loved ones. Additionally, Dr. Gaugler leads a multi-disciplinary research group focused on improving outcomes in polytrauma patients.
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Richard Sontchi, MD is a double board-certified surgical critical care and trauma surgeon at Lakeland Regional Health. Dr. Sontchi specializes in Trauma/Acute Care Surgery, General Surgery, and Surgical Critical Care. In addition to patients seeking treatment for general surgery needs, Dr. Sontchi cares for patients who are acutely ill or injured, particularly specializing in complex abdominal wall reconstruction, while providing individualized care plans for each unique health concern.
Dr. Sontchi completed medical school and his residency at the University of South Florida, and his fellowship training at Orlando Regional Medical Center. Dr. Sontchi feels honored to be able to intervene and be a part of a person’s life at some of the most important chapters. He feels it is a privilege to be trusted by a patient and their family allowing him to care for them.
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Michael Taylor, DO is a double board-certified surgeon, providing care to patients at our Medical Center. He specializes in Trauma Surgery, Emergency General Surgery, Elective General Surgery, and Surgical Critical Care. Dr. Taylor attended medical school at Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences. He completed his fellowship at Boston Medical Center, and completed his medical residency at McLaren Macomb.
Dr. Taylor encompasses a comprehensive trauma and surgical-informed care approach with all of his patients to care for them in their most vulnerable times. By recognizing that any traumatic event can have long-lasting implications for a patient and their loved ones, he can better care for the immediate and future needs of his patients.
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Ward Wall, MD is a board-certified surgeon at Lakeland Regional. He specializes in general surgery, trauma surgery, and surgical critical care. He sees patients suffering from various types of surgical needs including hernias, gallbladder, appendicitis, diverticulitis, removal of lumps/masses, and colonoscopies. Dr. Ward attended Wayne State University School of Medicine and completed both his residency and fellowship at Washington Hospital Center.
Dr. Ward is passionate about educating his patients so they feel confident before, during, and after their surgery. He prioritizes developing a relationship with his patients so he can help them improve their daily lives.
Lakeland Regional Health offers a competitive benefits package. Click below to view the benefits package provided to LRH team members.
Beyond our standard tuition reimbursement program, retirement plans, paid time off and a comprehensive health and benefit plan, we also offer the following extended benefits for residents of our Graduate Medical Education Program:
Applicants to the Surgical Critical Care and Acute Care Surgery Fellowships must submit a complete application via Surgical Critical Care and Acute Care Fellowship Application Service (SAFAS).
Fellows will participate in the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP). Interview dates will begin in May and run through July.
NRMP Number: 2323442F0
Required Supporting Documents
We are excited to welcome all candidates to apply for our Graduate Medical Education programs. However, please note that applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S. We are unable to sponsor or take over sponsorship of employment Visas at this time. Thank you for understanding.
Our GME programs are affiliated with NSU-KPCOM
