Surgical Rotations

Each third year medical student spends 8 weeks on the surgical clerkship.  The clinical ward experience is divided into four two-week blocks.  The surgical clerkship offers a variety of clinical ward rotations.  These include:

• 6 weeks in the core disciplines
  • Vascular
  • Surgical Oncology
  • Trauma/General Surgery
• 2 weeks rotating through subspecialties
  • General Surgery/Pediatrics
  • Cardiothoracic
  • Urology
  • ENT
  • Orthopedics
  • Neurosurgery
  • Plastic Surgery

Each student will have rotations on General, Vascular, Surgical Oncology and Trauma.  The night before you start on the service you should page the chief resident for each service to learn the place and time where you are to meet the following morning. (A list of all chief residents is included and updated with each block)

There are three major components to the Surgical Clerkship experience. These include the core and subspecialty lectures and the simulation experiences including a suturing workshop.    
You will participate on the inpatient service, outpatient clinics and in the operating room. Each service is different and the specifics will be explained to you (usually by the chief resident) when you start your two weeks.  You must read the learning objectives for clinical clerks prior to starting each rotation and review them with the faculty and residents.

Call for students is only on weekends.  There are five 12-hour blocks each weekend beginning Friday night at 7:00pmand ending Monday at 7:00am.  Students will develop a call schedule at orientation at the beginning of each block.

There is a central daily lecture. The topics, locations and times are located on the master schedule included in this syllabus. Attendance at these lectures is MANDATORY. It is your responsibility to ensure that you are excused from the operating room or clinic to be at these lectures. If you are having any difficulties please inform one of the clerkship directors.