Surgical Specialties

Director: William Postma, MD

Coordinator: Kim Hall

Clerkship Learning Objectives:

Perform and record history and physical examinations on surgical specialty patients and present their patients to the attending and resident physicians on daily team rounds.
Select treatment plans for their patients that will be evaluated and critiqued by attending and resident physicians on daily team rounds.
Prepare for operating room procedures by reviewing appropriate anatomy and interviewing and examining the patient preoperatively. Attending and resident physicians may verbally quiz students about pertinent anatomical structures during surgery to evaluate the depth of the student’s knowledge.
Participate in surgical specialty cases by assisting with wound retraction, knot tying, and basic suturing. All student participation in the operating room will be under the direct observation and supervision of an attending and/or resident physician.
Interact in a professional manner with all patients and their family members, hospital staff, students, and faculty. Students will dress appropriately when tending to clinical duties and guard patient confidentiality at all times.
Perform routine surgical specialty ward chores including dressing changes, blood draws, IV insertions, and catheter placements. Instruction, supervision, and observational evaluation will be the responsibility of resident and attending physicians.
Attend weekly lectures and perform assigned readings and demonstrate an understanding of the material presented by performance on a 75 question multiple choice final exam which is specific to these lectures and readings.
Maintain a Surgical Specialty Clerkship Log documenting the number and type of patients they care for on each service utilizing the One45 application.

Required Clinical Experiences:

Specialty Focused H&P (while observed by faculty member)
Informed Consent
Sterile Scrub Technique
Surgical Timeout
Post-Operative Handoff
Surgical Complications
Surgical Site Infections
Post-Surgical Pain Management
Pre-Op Decision for Surgery
Post-Op Inpatient Recovery
Post-Operative Wound Care
Post-Operative Clinic Visit
Post-Operative IV fluid management
Midpoint Feedback

Assessment:

Clinical Evaluations
Final Exam