Surgical Clerkship

Surgical Specialty Exposures

Mount Sinai

• Breast Surgery

  One student will spend two weeks on the breast service, joining the surgeons in their private office, at the breast clinic as well as scrubbing on both benign and cancer cases. The student will attend the weekly breast conference, which has a pathology orientation.

  This selective will give students a greater exposure to all aspects of breast diseases, including the work-up and treatment of common breast related symptoms. These include Breast pain, nipple discharge, breast masses, and non-palpable mammographic findings.

  This rotation is recommended for students that are not rotating on team 4 and are interested in gaining exposure to surgical aspects of breast diseases.

• Colon & Rectal Surgery

  The student will spend two weeks learning about the approach to colorectal diseases in both the inpatient and outpatient setting. The student will attend Surgery V teaching rounds as well as the Colorectal Surgery Conference once each week. The student will work one on one in the office with one of the colorectal surgeons and scrub in abdominal and anorectal surgery. The student will be exposed to rigid and flexible sigmoidoscopy and a variety of office anorectal procedures. The student will have the opportunity to see patients both preoperatively and postoperatively in the office, and will be exposed to long term follow up of patients with colorectal cancer.

  Although any student could benefit from this exposure, it will be especially useful for the student who has not rotated on Surgery V and feels that he/she is lacking in exposure to abdominal surgery.

• Hepatobiliary

• Neurosurgery

  Each student will be exposed to neurosurgical diseases both in the outpatient setting, the inpatient setting, and the operating room. Students will learn to perform a neurological examination and to organize the findings to localize anatomically the site of abnormality. They will participate in all neurosurgical conferences including three neuroradiology conferences per week and Grand Rounds once per week. They will observe in the operating room and garner an appreciation for the nature of neurosurgical procedures and the high tech equipment available and utilized in such procedures. Students will have exposure to patients with trauma, neoplasia both intracranial and spinal, degenerative spine disease, pediatric neurosurgical diseases, and hydocephalus.

• Orthopaedics

• Otolaryngology

  During their two-week exposure in Otolaryngology (ENT), students will understand the nature of each of the subspecialties within otolaryngology, including pediatric otolaryngology, facial plastic surgery, otology, head and neck oncology, and sinus surgery, as well as become familiar with the common problems related to them. Students will also perform a comprehensive head and neck examination, including fiberoptic endoscopy. Students will be expected to spend one day in each of the following: pediatric otolaryngology resident clinic, the general otolaryngology resident clinic, the larygology clinic, the head and neck cancer clinic, and in the sinus clinic, respectively. Students will also be expected to devote one day to observe each of the following: pediatric surgical cases, general surgery cases, operative laryngology, head and neck cancer surgical cases, and sinus surgical cases.

• Pediatric Surgery

  The third year clinical clerk choosing Pediatric Surgery as the exposure will be actively involved on the team, scrubbing in cases at Mount Sinai twice a week and at Elmhurst once a week. The student sees patients with the team in a clinic at Elmhurst Friday mornings, and in the faculty offices at Mount Sinai Tuesday mornings and Friday afternoons. The student rounds with the resident and should be available if cases arise as emergencies. During the two-week period, the student should read actively about the clinical problems to help solve their unanswered questions. Also required is reading of selected chapters in basic textbooks (such as O'Neill's Pediatric Surgery, Mosby, 1998) covering such topics as appendicitis, hernias, pyloric stenosis, cryptorchidism, Necrotizing Enterocolitis and neonatal intestinal obstructions.

• Plastic Surgery

  During their exposure in Plastic Surgery students will be introduced to the field of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and will participate fully with the residents and staff.  This includes experience in the operating room, clinic, and at all division conferences. A large variety of plastic surgical problems will be seen, giving the student a good overview of the specialty.

• Surgical Intensive Care Unit

• Transplant

• Urology

  After a two-week clinical rotation in Urology, all medical students will be expected to be able to:

  1. Take a detailed urologic history
  2. Perform a comprehensive urologic examination
  3. Perform a male genital examination, perform a digital rectal examination of the prostate and learn to distinguish between prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH)
  4. Perform and understand findings on a urinalysis (including microscopic assessment)

  In addition, students will be expect to have some understanding of the diagnosis and following common urologic conditions: BPH and voiding dysfunction; carcinoma of the prostate; voiding dysfunction and significance of irritative, neurogenic, and obstructive symptoms; varying types of urinary incontinence; erectile dysfunction; renal masses; urinary stone disease; and abnormalities of scrotal contents.