Third Year Medical Student Surgery Clerkship

Department Chair: Jeffrey Nalesnik, MD (Acting Chair)
Clerkship Director: R. Scott Snyder, MD, FACS
Clerkship Coordinator: Laura Trowbridge

Questions about Surgery Clerkship?
Email: Laura.Trowbridge@kernmedical.com

Third Year Medical Student Rotations

Third year medical students rotating through Surgery at Kern Medical will be divided into multiple, 2-week and 3-week, rotations. These 2-week and 3-week rotations will allow each medical student to maximize their time and exposure in both General Surgery and in the Surgery Sub-Specialties.

General Surgery Rotations

There are two (2) General Surgery Rotations, comprising a total of 6 weeks of General Surgery. All of the 3^rd year medical students are required to complete both of these two (2) General Surgery Rotations in order to pass the 3^rd year Surgery rotation.

General Surgery at Kern Medical is divided into two teams, each team is run by its’ respective General Surgery Attending, either Dr. Snyder or Dr. Cheriyan. Dr. Snyder and Dr. Cheriyan are both Board Certified by the American Board of Surgery and are Fellows in the American College of Surgeons.

The General Surgery teams often include Family Practice Residents, O.B.-G.Y.N. Residents, and 4^th year medical students who also rotate through General Surgery. Each of the two (2) General Surgery teams are supported by additional healthcare personnel which include Physician Assistants (PA), Nurse Practitioners (NP), Registered Nurse First Assistants (RNFA), Clinical Nurse Coordinators (RN) and Medical Assistants (MA).

During these two (2) 3-week General Surgery Rotations, students will be exposed to a vast array of pathology that constitutes a general surgery practice. Students are expected to participate in all aspects of patient care, in both the inpatient and in the outpatient settings. The outpatient patient care evaluations will occur at the two (2) outpatient clinics. The Kern Medical clinics are located at 3551 Q Street and 9330 Stockdale Hwy. These outpatient clinics care for patients that are referred for possible elective surgery.

Students are encouraged to review the patients’ presenting complaints and symptoms, their pertinent past medical history and pertinent physical exam, laboratory and diagnostic exams (including radiographic films), and the recommendations for treatment. If surgery is offered, students should read about the procedure and be prepared to assist!

A 3^rd year medical student is expected to know the basic principles of Pre-Operative and Post-Operative care. Outpatient clinic duties require that 3^rd year medical students to integrate their knowledge of basic surgical principles with their patient examinations. Students are expected to develop an appropriate care plan for the appropriate operation to be performed. Each student will perform a thorough history and detailed physical exam of each surgery patient. The student must demonstrate their ability to and formulate a pre-operative/post-operative assessment and plan. Students are considered a vital part of the General Surgery team and should be able to demonstrate their practice knowledge and patient care skills in a professional manner which integrates all members of the health care team.

Since general surgery is a consultative specialty, a patient is referred to a surgeon once a symptom or pathology is identified by the primary care physician or in some circumstances, by the emergency room physician. This rotation will also expose students to; gastrointestinal cancer, biliary disease, breast cancer, hernia repair and thoracic diseases. Understanding the need for surgical care in each of these broad topics requires continued reading of the appropriate texts and literature.

In addition to the clinical work each student must attend the weekly didactic lectures. Attendance at weekly didactics lectures is mandatory. All students are to be excused from all clinical and operative duties in order to attend didactic lectures. Attendance at weekly didactics lectures must be 100% in order to pass the 3^rd year Surgery Rotation.

At the conclusion of this rotation, student performance will be evaluated by their General Surgery Attending.

Surgery Sub-Specialty Rotations

Surgery Sub-Specialty rotations are 2-week rotations that will comprise the remaining 6 weeks of the 12-week Surgery rotation. This 2-week system will allow the 3^rd year medical student to rotate onto three (3) Surgery Sub-Specialties. All of the 3^rd year medical students are required to complete 3 of their Surgery Sub-Specialty rotations in order to pass the 3^rd year Surgery rotation. The Surgery Sub-Specialty rotations available to 3^rd year medical students include; (1) Colon and Rectal Surgery, (2) Orthopedic Surgery, (3) Head and Neck Surgery, (4) Urology, and (5) Trauma.

Such consultations can come from either the emergency room or other specialty services such as internal medicine, family practice, pediatrics and OB-GYN. Students are expected to assist the consulting intern/resident in the management of these patients.

Fourth Year Medical Students Rotations

Fourth year medical students rotating through Surgery at Kern Medical will be divided into multiple, 2-week and 3-week, rotations. These 2-week and 3-week rotations will allow each medical student to maximize their time and exposure in both General Surgery and in the Surgery Sub-Specialties. The General Surgery and Surgery Sub-Specialty rotations available to 4^th year medical students include; (1) General Surgery, (2) Colon and Rectal Surgery, (3) Orthopedic Surgery, (4) Head and Neck Surgery, (5) Urology, (6) Trauma, and (7) Plastic Surgery.

Attending Evaluations and Grading Summary

Upon completion of each rotation each medical will submit an Evaluation Form to the Attending Surgeon. These Evaluation Forms are compiled at the end of the rotation and a final grade is established.

The Final Attending Grade is an average of ALL Attending Evaluation Forms Submitted and is responsible for fifty percent (50%) of the medical students Final Surgery Grade. The medical students Final Examination Grade is responsible for twenty-five percent (25%) of the medical students Final Surgery Grade. The NMBE Grade is responsible for twenty-five percent (25%) of the medical students Final Surgery Grade. The medical student completion of E*Value is responsible for the final ten (10%) of the medical students Final Surgery Grade.

50% Attending Evaluations
25% NMBE
15% Final Exam in Surgery
10% E*Value