The Third Year Clerkship in Surgery
CPMC Orientation time: 7AM
Welcome to the third year clerkship, consisting of five weeks on the General
Surgery service, at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Dr. Mahmoud El-Tamer is the Course Director. His office is in HIP10. His extension is 5-0728, and his email address is me180@columbia.edu. Ms. Doris Leddy is the Clerkship Coordinator. Her office is MH7-307 G.S. extension 5-9596, and her e-mail address is dl642@columbia.edu. They are available by appointment or on the fly. Dr. Mark A. Hardy is the program director for the general surgery residency and supervises the teaching program for the residents, which blends in with that of the medical students.
Enclosed in your syllabus is a daily schedule of your activities and obligations.
There are didactic sessions with the faculty addressing Curriculum topics on
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. The Curriculum topics are derived from the required textbook: Essentials of General Surgery by Peter F. Lawrence, 4th edition. You should prepare yourself by reading the appropriate chapter from your textbook in advance of the talks. Other recommended texts include Cope's Acute Abdomen, Schwartz' Principles of Surgery, Sabiston's text of General Surgery, Greenfield's textbook, and Corson's text.
In addition, departmental lectures (Pathology) occur on Mondays only, and Radiology on Thursday. The Department of Surgery Grand Rounds and Case Conference sessions are held Thursday mornings in the Clark Conference Center and the Alumni Auditorium in the Black Building. Your attendance is required. Consult your service chiefs regarding topics that will be covered.
Attendance at all departmental lectures and didactic sessions is mandatory and these talks take priority over other activities. The only acceptable excuse for missing a lecture is that you were scrubbed in on a case with your patient.
You will meet with your Preceptor at least 3 to 5 hours/week. Topics relevant to General Surgery but not addressed in the didactic sessions or departmental lectures will be covered. Preceptors will also elaborate upon and answer questions stemming from the Curriculum based talks. You will have the opportunity to present cases to your Preceptor.
Preceptor sessions will be scheduled directly by your Preceptor at your mutual convenience. Late afternoon meetings with your Preceptor are encouraged as they do not conflict as much with time spent in the operating room and doctors' offices.
An orientation to the operating room will be held in the OR on the first morning of the rotation. It will be conducted by a senior operating room nurse. Attendance is mandatory. There is also a 20 minute videotape entitled "Basic Clinical Skills: Scrubbing, Gowning and Gloving" available for loan from the clerkship coordinator.
Scrub suits or "blues" are available for your use during the rotation and are mandatory in the operating room. They are not to be taken home and are not to be worn outside the OR unless covered by a white coat. It is a Health Department violation to wear OR attire in the street. Although frequently violated, when the rule is enforced by the Health Department the punishment is draconian so NEVER WEAR BLUE SCRUBS ON THE STREET.
Surgical Procedures
At the medical student surgery orientation, the students are given a list of surgical procedures that are mandatory for them to scrub on during the rotation. Some of these cases are not performed at the Allen, so it is necessary that those students in the Allen come down to Milstein to participate in these cases.
On-Call
The medical students will be on-call every 4th night. They are supposed to go and rest in the on-call room after 12AM if there is nothing going on. The resident can page the student if something interesting comes in and they think it is educational for the student.
There is a shortage of lockers in the operating room. Many faculty and residents do not have their own lockers, but are forced to share. Nonetheless, there are 1-male and 1-female lockers available for the exclusive use of students. It is recommended that valuables be left at home whenever possible. You may also use the lockers on 7 Hudson North, room 109. Doris Leddy will assign those lockers for each rotation.
One student from each service will sign-out a beeper from the clerkship coordinator at the beginning of the rotation. This student will be personally responsible for returning the beeper at the rotation's end: No Beeper = No Grade. Be sure the beepers are functioning well with good battery charges. Fresh batteries are available from the clerkship coordinator. If your beeper should malfunction, report it immediately to the clerkship coordinator for replacement.
There is an $80.00 fee for lost beepers. Students should always be reachable through the team beepers, so if you are in the O.R., or otherwise unable to return pages, please pass the beeper along to another team member who can respond.
A sleeping room is available for the students on-call in the Harkness Pavilion 180 Ft. Washington Ave. 12th floor, room 1206. It is recommended that you do not turn off your beeper even though there are phones in the on-call rooms. However, you should let the operators know the phone number in the on-call room to minimize the chance that you might miss a call.
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