The Top Gun Laparoscopic Skill Shootout is an event held annually at major surgical meetings including the American College of Surgeons (ACS), Society of American Gastrointestinal Endocsopic Surgeons (SAGES), and Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons (SLS).  The Top Gun shootout provides a national arena for residents to demonstrate their laparoscopic skills while promoting friendly competition between academic education centers.  The Top Gun competition features the “Rosser” stations developed by Dr. Butch Rosser at Yale Laparoscopy.  The stations require significant dexterity and practice time to master.  Shootout participants include residents, minimally invasive fellows, and surgeons from around the country.  Contestants are graded for accuracy and time scores on the complex laparoscopic tasks during the qualifying rounds.  The high scorers are invited to compete in the final round of the shootout for a chance to win the coveted “Top Gun” trophy and military fighter pilot jacket.

UMMC residents have the opportunity to participate in surgical simulation competitions modeled after the national Top Gun event. The winner of the UMMC PGY -2 through PGY-4 competition is sent to represent our residency in a national Top Gun event. In 2005 at SAGES, then PGY-5 resident Dr. Kenneth D. Vick won the #2 national prize, the only top three winner that year who was not a Minimally Invasive Fellow. In the 2006 Top Gun shootout, UMMC PGY-3 resident Dr. Lee Nicols took first place and PGY-5 resident Dr. H. Alden Kirk took second place. In the recent 2007 Top Gun competition held at the ACS Clinical Congress, Dr. Lee Nicols repeated his first place victory while PGY-3 Michael Keller and PGY-4 Dr. Jon Simmons took second and third places.

The competition is sub-divided into three separate competitions:

1. Intern (PGY-1) Competition: Winner awarded a minimally invasive surgery textbook, a Powe pin and The Best Intern in Laparoscopy Award certificate. Her/his name is engraved on the Powe Award plaque located in the Surgery Simulation Center
• Past winners
  2003-2004: Laura Richards Vick, M.D.
  2004-2005: Jonathan Altomar, M.D
  2005-2006: Michael Keller, M.D.
  2006-2007: Steven Koopman, M.D.
2. Resident (PGY 2-4) Competition: Winner awarded a trip to the following year’s national "Top Gun" competition, a Poew pin, and The Best Resident in Laparoscopy Award certificate.
   • Past winners
     2003-2004: Kenneth D Vick, M.D.
     2004-2005: Sani Yamout, M.D.
     2005-2006: Lee Nicols, M.D.
     2006-2007: Lee Nicols, M.D.
3. Chief Resident (PGY-5) Competition: Winner presented with the Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons award which includes a membership to the society, a one-year subscription to the society journal (JSLS) and free registration to the society's upcoming annual meeting.
• Past winners
  2002-2003: Danny Louis Sanders, M.D.
  2003-2004: Adrian Russell Smith, M.D.
  2004-2005: Kenneth D. Vick, M.D.
  2005-2006: Sani Yamont, M.D.