Specialty: General Surgery

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MD2B Connect Physician ID # 245

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Where will this rotation take place: This combined inpatient/outpatient US clinical experience will take place approximately 10 miles north of Newark. In addition to the hospital, there are several outpatient locations located within 5 miles of one another. Please note that transportation will be needed to travel from location to location, either your own or via Uber/Lyft.

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Hours: 7 AM to 5 PM (typically four days per week; please note that start time may be earlier or later depending upon when cases are scheduled in the operating room)

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Hours have been provided by the preceptor. Hours are subject to change at the preceptor’s discretion, but the minimum total hours will remain approximately the same.

 

What you will do: You will be under the supervision of a board-certified general surgeon who is the Chief of Surgery at Hackensack Meridian Palisades Medical Center. The hospital has a general surgery residency program that was started approximately ten years ago as an osteopathic residency program. Earlier gradautes were all osteopathic physicians but there are now international medical graduates training in the program from different countries. The attending physician is a member of the residency selection committee and interviews applicants for the program. You will also work closely with general surgery residents who have significant input into which applicants receive interviews. Therefore, this is an audition rotation.

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You will split time between the hospital, outpatient clinics, and the surgical center. In the hospital, you will round with the attending physician and residents and see cases in the operating room.  Please note that rotators are not allowed to scrub in because priority is given to the surgery residents to serve as assistants to the attending surgeon. In the outpatient clinics, you will see initial consultations as well as patients coming in for follow-up care. 

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After a few days of observation, you will take on an increasing role in patient encounters and learn the following under the preceptor’s supervision:

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• Taking patient histories 

• Performing physical exams under the physician's supervision.

• Presenting patients.

• Writing or entering clinic progress notes (Epic EMR)

• Researching the literature to answer clinical questions at the point of care.

• Educating patients 

• Observing a variety of surgeries in the operating room (per hospital policy, rotators are not permitted to scrub in).

• Have opportunities to teach other team members.

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The activities above will mostly take place in the outpatient setting. As a result of hospital policies, inpatient activities will be more observational.

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You will receive regular feedback on your performance. 

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​Who should consider this rotation: International medical graduates (IMGs) and students seeking US clinical experience. IMGs seeking careers in surgery will find this rotation particularly useful. 

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How to obtain a letter of recommendation: The rotator should ask the preceptor for a LOR near the conclusion of the rotation. Dr. Desai has provided the physician with guidelines about best practices in letter writing that meet residency program requirements. In some cases, the preceptor may ask the rotator to write a letter of recommendation draft. 

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During the rotation: Our team will be checking in periodically with you to ensure that you are having an optimal experience. We encourage you to contact us if you have any questions during the rotation.