The student functions as a responsible member of a busy surgical team. Throughout the course the students are supervised by members of the house staff, full-time faculty, and clinical faculty. Fundamental principles of surgical diagnosis, therapy, and application of basic scientific knowledge to clinical medicine are emphasized. The students work as part of the clinical team on each service. The students should attend conferences and rounds which are pertinent to the service.
Students rotate on night and weekend call as part of the team.
An important part of this surgical clerkship is the core lecture series that is given on Thursdays and Saturdays during the course of the twelve-week period. These lectures, conducted by the surgical faculty in general surgery and the surgical specialties deal with the major areas of surgical disease from the standpoints of pathophysiology, diagnosis, treatment, and current progress. On all surgical services students are assigned to a faculty preceptor in small groups of three or four. The preceptor meets regularly with the student for at least two hours a week during which case work-ups are reviewed critically and important principles in management of assigned patients are discussed.