The Second Norman Bethune Hospital of Jilin University's Department of General Surgery is a National Clinical Key Specialty Construction Project, a Key Specialty designated by the Jilin Provincial Health Department, a Key Laboratory Unit of the Jilin Provincial Health Department, the Jilin Provincial Medical Quality Control Center for General Surgical Diseases, the Jilin Provincial Continuing Medical Education Training Base for General Surgery, the Jilin Provincial Laparoscopic Training Center for General Surgery, the Vice Chair Institution of the Jilin Provincial Medical Association, the Diagnosis and Treatment Center for General Surgical Diseases at Jilin University, a component of the Jilin University-University of Georgia Joint Research Center for Systems Biology, and a key department of The Second Norman Bethune Hospital of Jilin University.

With well-defined departmental planning and development direction, the specialty adheres to the principles of "patient-centered care" and "quality is life." The professional development focus is on enhancing the diagnosis and treatment capabilities for general surgical diseases, improving comprehensive specialty service levels, and prioritizing the minimally invasive treatment of general surgical diseases based on the "functional surgery" principle. Since being approved as a National Clinical Key Specialty Construction Project in 2012, the department has undergone organizational reforms and specialized subdivisions into five major specialties: Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, Gastrointestinal Nutrition and Hernia Surgery, Colorectal Surgery, Thyroid Surgery, and Breast Surgery. Each subspecialty is fully staffed with a reasonable structure in terms of professional titles, age, and education, and a nurse-to-doctor ratio of 2:1, enabling the handling of various complex and critical cases in general surgery. Each specialty is led by influential figures in domestic and provincial academic circles, boasting strong technical expertise, with physicians at all levels proficient in corresponding techniques. Leveraging the advantages of the National Clinical Key Specialty Project platform, the position as the chair institution of the Jilin Provincial General Surgery Quality Control Center, and the vice chair institution of the Jilin Provincial Medical Association, a multidisciplinary (MDT) comprehensive diagnosis and treatment system for general surgical diseases led by key disciplines has been established. This system involves collaboration among general surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, radiology, endoscopy, pathology, and other disciplines, facilitating resource sharing, complementary strengths, and joint research, initially forming a platform for multidisciplinary consultations and collaborative research. In recent years, by sending key personnel from each subspecialty to renowned domestic and international hospitals for advanced training, technical skills have been enhanced, and the core strength of the specialty team has been built. Multidisciplinary consultations are conducted for critical patients, and an MDT platform involving internal and external experts has been established and improved. A medical quality evaluation system and an individual performance assessment system have been set up to strengthen medical quality control. Relevant experts are organized to regularly visit grassroots levels, jointly promoting popular science knowledge with local hospitals and conducting regular publicity on common diseases, thereby overall improving the prevention and control level of general surgical diseases in the province.

The goal of specialty construction is to establish a comprehensive key specialty in general surgery characterized by "functional surgery," with broad international vision, keen innovative awareness, significant regional influence, and high informatization. It aims to integrate prevention, diagnosis, treatment, research, education, and training, becoming a nationally and internationally renowned diagnosis and treatment center for general surgical diseases, a teaching and training center, an information exchange hub, a research攻坚 center, and a health education center.