You deserve

A surgeon who delivers precision you can trust…

A physician who listens….

and care without compromise

Why independent practice?

Dr. Rashna Ginwalla is a board-certified, fellowship-trained General Surgeon with over a decade of experience spanning trauma surgery, surgical critical care, global health systems, and academic medicine. She is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, holds an MD from USC Keck School of Medicine and an MPH in Global Health from the University of Arizona, and has trained at some of the country's most demanding surgical programs, including Temple University Hospital, Johns Hopkins and the University of Maryland.

She founded Clearwater Advanced Surgical Associates with one goal: to practice surgery on her own terms, with the independence to always put patients first, close the referral loop, and build the kind of practice where both patients and providers know and trust exactly who is taking care of them.

CASA is here to bring independent, patient-centered, community- based, cutting- edge, empathetic surgical care to the Treasure Valley.

A woman with long gray hair wearing earrings, a necklace, and a patterned black and white top, smiling at the camera against a green background.

Surgery On Your Terms

Dr. Ginwalla answers the phone. She sees patients quickly. She answers your questions thoroughly, and makes sure you understand your condition and its treatments to the fullest extent. And she brings fellowship-trained skill and precision to every procedure, to every patient.

For referring practitioners, that means a surgeon you can trust to take excellent care of your patients and keep you informed every step of the way. Consultation reports are returned within 24 hours of patient visits. Communication is direct, transparent, and clear; practitioner to practitioner. Your patient stays your patient.

A woman with long gray hair wearing earrings, a necklace, and a patterned black and white top, smiling at the camera against a green background.

Dr. Rashna Ginwalla is a board-certified, fellowship-trained General Surgeon with over a decade of experience spanning trauma surgery, surgical critical care, global health systems, and academic medicine. She is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, holds an MD from USC Keck School of Medicine and an MPH in Global Health from the University of Arizona, and has trained at some of the country's most demanding surgical programs, including Johns Hopkins and the University of Maryland.

She founded Clearwater Advanced Surgical Associates to bring independent, patient-centered, community- based, cutting- edge surgical care back to the Treasure Valley.

Aerial view of a town with lush green trees, a white church with a clock tower, roads, and distant hills under a clear blue sky.

From the mountains of new mexico To the Treasure Valley in Idaho….

Dr. Ginwalla has spent her life dedicated to the service of her fellow humans, by providing empathetic care when we need it the most- when we’re injured, in pain, and need compassionate but precise care.

She graduated summa cum laude in Biology from Bryn Mawr College before earning her medical degree at USC Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles.

Her surgical training took her through five years general surgery residency and a year of research at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia, a cardiac surgical critical care fellowship at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and dual fellowships in surgical critical care and acute care surgery at the University of Arizona. Along the way, she earned a Master of Public Health in Global Health.

Now, she returns to the Treasure Valley having just completed additional training in Complex Minimally Invasive Surgery (robotic and laparoscopic techniques) at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, in order to bring these advanced techniques back home, providing patients with faster recovery, less pain, and improved overall outcomes.

Aerial view of a town with lush green trees, a white church with a clock tower, roads, and distant hills under a clear blue sky.
A scenic view of a mountain with snow patches, evergreen trees, and a lake reflecting the sky during sunset or sunrise.

Global & Academic Work

Dr. Ginwalla has operated on four continents. She has served as a general surgeon with Doctors Without Borders. She has operated as faculty at the University of Rwanda, where she helped build the country’s surgical infrastructure as part of the Human Resources for Health Program. She served as a Rapporteur for the World Health Organization's Global Initiative for Emergency and Essential Surgical Care.

In the U.S., she rose from Assistant Profession at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth- Hitchcock Medical Center in NH, to Associate Professor of Surgery at California Northstate University, to Program Director of the General Surgery Residency at San Joaquin General Hospital outside of Stockton, CA. Her published research includes work in JAMA Surgery, the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, and the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery. She has authored chapters in the Johns Hopkins Manual of Cardiothoracic Surgery. She remains a peer reviewer for scientific articles.

She has always found ways to continue to teach, whether courses in Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS), or via educational presentations at each of her institutions, seeking to inform her patients, her peers and her communities about health issues that matter.

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A scenic view of a waterfall cascading over rocks with a river flowing in a canyon, surrounded by arid, rocky hills and sparse vegetation under a clear blue sky.

Why Independent Practice?

To incorporate cutting- edge technological surgical advances into her skill set, Dr. Ginwalla went back into training after more than a decade of practice for a 4th fellowship in Complex Gastrointestinal Minimally Invasive Surgery at the University of Maryland Medical Center, one of the country's oldest programs in minimally- invasive techniques.

She returned to Idaho with one goal: to practice surgery on her own terms, with the independence to always put patients first, close the referral loop, and build the kind of practice where both patients and providers know and trust exactly who is taking care of them.

Surgery On Your Terms

Dr. Ginwalla answers the phone. She sees patients quickly. She answers your questions thoroughly, and makes sure you understand your condition and its treatments to the fullest extent. And she brings fellowship-trained skill and precision to every procedure, to every patient.

For referring practitioners, that means a surgeon you can trust to take excellent care of your patients and keep you informed every step of the way. Consultation reports are returned within 24 hours of patient visits. Communication is direct, transparent, and clear; practitioner to practitioner. Your patient stays your patient.

Credentials

Education

  • BA, Bryn Mawr College, summa cum laude

  • MD, University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine

  • MPH (Global Health), University of Arizona Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health

Board Certifications

  • General Surgery (American Board of Surgery)

  • Surgical Critical Care (American Board of Surgery)

  • Neurocritical Care (American Board of Anesthesiology)

Professional Memberships

  • Fellow, American College of Surgeons (FACS)

  • Independent Doctors of Idaho (IDID)

  • Idaho Medical Association (IMA)

  • Ada County Medical Society (ACMS)

  • Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES)

  • Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM)

  • Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma (EAST)

  • Association of Women Surgeons (AWS)

Selected Leadership

  • Governor-appointed Member, Idaho Time-Sensitive Emergencies Council (2024-present)

  • AWS Outreach Committee (2025-present)

  • EAST Injury Control & Violence Prevention Committee (2024- present)

  • ATLS Course Director and Instructor (2016-present)

Media

Training:

  • Residency: Temple University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA

  • Fellowship: Cardiac Surgical Critical Care, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD

  • Fellowship: Surgical Critical Care & Trauma, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ

  • Fellowship: Acute Care Surgery, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ

  • Fellowship: Minimally Invasive Surgery & Complex Gastrointestinal Surgery, University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore, MD

Community

CASA means "home," and that's intentional.

Dr. Ginwalla's career has been shaped by a commitment to the communities she serves, from founding a violence intervention program in one of California's most underserved regions to teaching Stop the Bleed courses in Eagle, Idaho.

She is building a practice that serves the full Treasure Valley community, including those who face barriers to timely surgical care. Information about sliding-scale payments and community care programs will be available as the practice grows.

Get started with CASA today