The Second Norman Bethune Hospital of Jilin University, Department of General Surgery is a national key clinical specialty construction project, a key specialty of 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 unit of the Jilin Provincial Medical Association, the Diagnosis and Treatment Center for General Surgical Diseases of Jilin University, a component unit 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 principle of "functional surgery." Since being approved as a national key clinical specialty construction project in 2012, the department has undergone organizational reforms and specialized divisions: 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 the nurse-to-physician ratio is 1:2, 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, with strong technical capabilities, and physicians at all levels are proficient in their respective techniques. Leveraging the advantages of the national key clinical specialty project platform, the chair unit of the Jilin Provincial General Surgery Quality Control Center, and the vice chair unit 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 building a platform for multidisciplinary consultation 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 improved, and the core strength of the specialty team has been built. Multidisciplinary consultations for critically ill patients have been conducted, and an MDT platform comprising experts from within and outside the hospital has been established and refined. A medical quality evaluation system and an individual performance assessment system have been established to strengthen medical quality control. Relevant experts are organized to regularly visit grassroots levels, jointly promote popular science knowledge with local hospitals, and conduct regular publicity on common diseases, overall enhancing 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, teaching, and training, becoming a nationally and internationally renowned diagnosis and treatment center, teaching and training center, information exchange center, scientific research攻坚center, and health education center for general surgical diseases.