You & your Patients
Deserve a Physician Who
Listens
About Dr. Ginwalla
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.
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.
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.
As a trauma surgeon at San Joaquin General Hospital in California's Central Valley, Dr. Ginwalla directed a hospital-linked Violence Intervention Program advocating for victims of gun violence. She presented that work to the Mayor and Police Chief of Stockton, and appeared in the HBO documentary "Stockton on My Mind."
After relocating to Idaho, she served as a trauma surgeon at Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise, where she co-directed the Neurocritical, Surgical and Trauma ICU, and re- established the group’s ATLS education program.
She currently serves on Idaho's Time-Sensitive Emergencies Council, a governor-appointed position overseeing statewide trauma, stroke, and STEMI systems. In keeping with her commitment to her community, she is also a member of the Volunteer Idaho Medical Reserve Corps in PHD4.
Trauma, Violence Prevention & Community
Why Independent Practice?
To incorporate cutting- edge technological surgical advances into her skill set, Dr. Ginwalla is currently finishing an advanced 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 returns to Idaho in the summer of 2026 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)
Idaho Medical Association (IMA)
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
KTVB - on establishing Idaho’s first Neuro, Surgical, Trauma ICU
Stockton On My Mind - HBO Documentary (requires HBO subscription)
Dr. Ginwalla at the Forum on Gun Violence, Stockton, CA
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: 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.