The Surgery Clerkship at Morristown Medical Center provides medical students a foundation for understanding the principles and practice of surgery, teaching them the clinical skills and cognitive abilities required for decision-making and problem-solving in diseases requiring surgical consultation or intervention. Students are provided a structured, supervised clinical experience in ambulatory and in-patient settings as well as problem-based didactic teaching and directed reading.
Rotations at a Glance
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Surgery Acting Internship
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Director(s)
Location
Duration
4 or 8 weeks
Offered
- Throughout the academic year
- 1 student per rotation; rotation starts on the first Monday of the month
Prerequisites
Successful completion of all 3rd year clerkships, specifically medicine and general surgery
Description
The surgery acting internship allows 4th year medical students to act as sub-interns on an active general surgery service in a hospital that sees a wide variety of surgical diagnostic/management and procedures.
Learning Experience
Students will:
- Rotate on a busy general surgery surgical service at a large, tertiary care, community-based, teaching institution
- Be exposed to all surgical subspecialties, including general and laparoscopic, vascular, oncological and endocrine, colorectal and general thoracic, and trauma service for a broad introduction to surgical management of a variety of illnesses in a community hospital setting
- Help manage pre- and post-operative care of patients, under the guidance of a full staff of general surgical residents and the full-time and voluntary faculty
- Attend all teaching conferences
- Interact with consultants and primary surgical attending physicians
- Be directly supervised by the surgical attending as well as the teaching resident assigned to the Service
- Receive didactic teaching centered around a monthly conference with varied topics; a monthly journal club; surgical grand rounds; and surgical morbidity and mortality
Goals & Objectives
- To receive an overview of general and sub-specialty surgery
- To be introduced to surgical management of a variety of illnesses
- To participate in daily patient rounds
- To prepare verbal patient presentations daily
- To recommend clinical management with approval of supervising resident
- To attend daily lectures, journal clubs, rounds, etc.
- To interact with primary surgeon and consultants
- To apply mechanical skills as needed
Feedback & Evaluation
The residents and attending surgeons on the service and the course directors will evaluate students. A final, written evaluation will be completed at the end of the rotation.
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Gastrointestinal Surgery
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Director(s)
Location
Duration
4 weeks
Offered
Throughout the academic year
- 2 students per rotation; rotation starts on the first Monday of the month
Prerequisites
Successful completion of all 3rd year clerkships, specifically medicine and general surgery
Description
The gastrointestinal surgery rotation exposes 4th year medical students to a variety of gastrointestinal diseases requiring surgery.
Learning Experience
Students will:
- Become an integral part of the team, managing patients undergoing GI surgery
- Participate in daily bedside rounding with the attending staff and present at least one patient per day
- The verbal presentation and the required chart notation will be based on a systems review with daily planning and decision making within this structure
- Suggest clinical management decisions with approval of the supervising resident or attending physician
- Receive didactic teaching centered around a monthly conference with varied topics; a monthly journal club; surgical grand rounds; and surgical morbidity and mortality
- Prepare a 20-minute presentation on a topic of choice
- Interact with the consultants and the primary surgical attending
- Apply mechanical skills, including pulmonary artery and arterial line insertion
Goals & Objectives
- To participate in daily patient rounds
- To prepare verbal patient presentations daily
- To recommend clinical management with approval of supervising resident
- To attend didactic lectures, journal clubs, rounds, etc.
- To interact with primary surgeon and consultants
- To apply mechanical skills as needed
Feedback & Evaluation
The attending preceptor will provide feedback throughout the rotation. A final, written evaluation will be completed at the end of the rotation.
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Pediatric Surgery Sub-Internship
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Director(s)
Location
Duration
4 weeks
Offered
- Throughout the academic year
- 1 student per rotation; rotation starts on the first Monday of the month
Prerequisites
Successful completion of all 3rd year clerkships, specifically Pediatrics and General Surgery
Description:
The pediatric surgery sub-internship gives 4th year medical students the opportunity to round and scrub on the breadth and depth of pediatric surgical cases and to prepare for elective cases by reading the course syllabus. The inpatient experience is on the pediatric floors, the emergency department, the NICU, and the PICU. The outpatient experience is offered through the office of Children’s Surgical Associates.
Learning Experience
Students will:
- See patients with the attending physician and the house staff
- Rotate to both of Goryeb Children’s Hospital’s clinical sites
- Experience the presentation, evaluation, and operative care of pyloric stenosis, appendicitis, intussusception, newborn bowel obstruction and atresia, patent ductus arteriosus, necrotizing enterocolitis, TE fistula with esophageal atresia, childhood tumors, and some trauma
Goals & Objectives
- To become comfortable with and proficient with the examination of the child as a surgical patient and to offer an informed differential for common presentations of surgical disease
Feedback & Evaluation
The residents and attending surgeons on the service and the course directors will evaluate students. A final, written evaluation will be completed at the end of the rotation.
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Surgical ICU
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Director(s)
Location
Duration
4 weeks
Offered
- Throughout the academic year
- 1 student per month; rotation starts on the first Monday of the month
Prerequisites
Successful completion of all 3rd year clerkships, specifically medicine and general surgery
Description
The surgical ICU rotation fully integrates 4th year medical students into the critical care team. This involves active participation in ICU work and teaching rounds, clinical tasks, and independent study. A working knowledge of ventilator management, nutrition, types of shock, pressor support, and antibiotic usage will be demonstrated by the students at the end of the rotation and will prepare them for their first post-graduate year.
Learning Experience
Students will:
- Become an integral part of the team, managing patients undergoing GI surgery
- Participate in daily bedside rounding with the attending staff and present at least one patient per day
- The verbal presentation and the required chart notation will be based on a systems review with daily planning and decision making within this structure
- Suggest clinical management decisions with approval of the supervising resident or attending physician
- Receive didactic teaching centered around a monthly conference with varied topics
- Attend a monthly Journal club; surgical grand rounds; and surgical morbidity and mortality
- Prepare a 20-minute presentation on a topic of choice
- Interact with the consultants and the primary surgical attending physician
- Apply mechanical skills, including pulmonary artery and arterial line insertion
Goal
- To provide medical students with the clinical skills and cognitive abilities required for decision-making and problem-solving in diseases that require critical care consultation or intervention
Objectives
- The objectives of the Critical Care Sub-Internship will be achieved by providing a structured, supervised clinical experience in an inpatient setting and through problem-based didactic teaching and directed reading. Specific objectives, the activities performed to achieve them, and the methods of assessing whether they were achieved, include:
- Identify conditions for which critical care intervention or consultation is necessary
- Understand the scope and limitations of surgical therapy for ICU diagnosis
- Identify key components of the physiology, pathophysiology, and supportive measures in critical care and how they affect outcomes
- Grasp the principles of postoperative care
- Communicate clinical information in an efficient and reliable manner
- Appreciate fundamental technical skills necessary for surgical care
- Acquire the knowledge necessary for the care of critically ill patients
- Establish an effective relationship with patients and patients’ families
Feedback & Evaluation
The attending preceptor will provide feedback throughout the rotation. A final, written evaluation will be completed at the end of the rotation.