The Student Source

Clerkship - Surgery

University of Virginia

Logistics

The Surgery Clerkship is based in the Department of Surgery, but includes rotations in general surgery at Carilion Roanoke Health System and Salem Veterans Affairs Medical Center, as well as subspecialty rotations throughout all the surgical subspecialties and anesthesiology.

The general surgical services at the University of Virginia each have three primary operating days and two clinic days.

Patient Care

In general, on all of these services, we expect third year students to be the patients' primary care doctors.

The chief resident will make the clinical assignments for each third year students. The student should contact the chief resident on their service to see what the team plans will be for work rounds, teaching rounds, patient care, clinic schedules etc.

The students are expected to make efforts to get to the operating room, particularly accompanying their own patients. For most physicians, this will be the only opportunity in their careers when they will be able to spend very much time in the operating room, and this opportunity should not be squandered. The faculty and residents in the Department of Surgery are eager to help the students take full advantage of this opportunity and experience and will do whatever needs to be done to facilitate the optimal educational experience for the third year students. Progress notes should be written daily. These should be based on the student's own powers of observation. "Learning experiences", such as drawing blood, scheduling special procedures, and dressing changes, are expected from time to time.

Philosophy

The primary philosophy of the surgical clerkship at the University of Virginia is to help prepare primary care doctors for the issues that their patients will face when their patients have surgical problems. Many of these problems will not be seen on any of the other clerkships. We also want to be sure that the third year students have the opportunity to learn technical skills that all physicians should know, such as placement of lines, tubes and sutures.

Contact Person

Dr. Eugene McGahren, Director, Clerkship in Surgery, (434) 924-5643


 

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