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Interested in learning more about this rotation? Start the process for a free introductory meeting with our team
Physician ID:
249
Hours:
Monday – Friday 8 AM to 6 PM (On Wednesday, the preceptor is on call so it is possible that the day could end well after 6 PM)
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.
Location: Houston
This combined inpatient/outpatient US clinical experience will take place two hours southwest of downtown Houston.
Inpatient/Outpatient US Clinical Experience in General Surgery in Houston
Specialties: General Surgery
Location: Houston
Price:
Hospital Letterhead: Yes
Faculty Appointment: No
Information about this clinical experience:
You will be under the supervision of a board-certified general surgeon who is a dedicated teacher. Every year, the general surgery residency program at McGovern Medical School at UT Health Science Center sends a resident to rotate with this attending for a period of two months. This attending also teaches and mentors premedical students and PA students.
Although this attending has multiple hospital staff appointments, 90% of the work is performed at a single hospital in Victoria, Texas. This hospital serves not only the patient population of Victoria but serves as a catchment area for the approximately 200,000 patients spread throughout the region surrounding the city, an area that has limited access to surgical care.
Rotators will have the opportunity to spend time in the outpatient clinic, operating room, and on call with the attending. Typical OR cases include laparoscopic cholecystectomy, hernia repair (inguinal, incisional, umbilical), breast biopsy and other procedures, thyroid surgery, and colon resection. Every Wednesday, the doctor is on call. What this means is that the attending is available for emergency cases (e.g., cholecystectomy, colon perforation). While on call, new patient consultations will also be performed, a wonderful opportunity for the rotator to learn how to perform an evaluation of urgent surgical issues. The surgeon is also on call for acute care and trauma cases.
During your experience, you will learn the following U.S. medical practices under the preceptor’s supervision:
Taking patient histories.
Performing physical exams under the physician's supervision.
Presenting patients.
Accessing the EMR to review the patient chart (Meditech Expanse)
Researching the literature to answer clinical questions at the point of care.
Spending time with other healthcare professionals to understand their roles and responsibilities.
Observing a variety of surgeries in the operating room (rotators will be permitted to scrub in).
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.
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.
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.
Testimonials
Dr. X was an outstanding preceptor who ensured that I remained actively involved throughout the entire rotation. The doctor encouraged participation at every opportunity, answered all of my questions with patience, clarified my doubts, and shared a remarkable amount of clinical knowledge in a relatively short period of time. Dr. X frequently challenged me with questions during patient encounters, which kept me engaged, helped identify gaps in my knowledge, and motivated me to continuously improve my clinical reasoning.
In addition to Dr. X, I had the privilege of rotating with other doctors and physician assistants. Every member of the team was welcoming, approachable, and genuinely enthusiastic about teaching medical students. Dr. X shared valuable experiences from their clinical careers, discussing memorable patient cases, diagnostic approaches, and practical tips on effective case presentations. These discussions greatly strengthened my understanding of clinical reasoning and reinforced the importance of developing a broad differential diagnosis before arriving at a final diagnosis.
One of the greatest strengths of this rotation was the emphasis on active learning. I was consistently encouraged to obtain patient histories independently and perform physical examinations whenever appropriate. This significantly improved my confidence in history-taking, physical examination skills, patient presentations, and my ability to build rapport with both pediatric patients and their families. I also gained a deeper appreciation for how textbook presentations often differ from real-world clinical practice and how patient management frequently requires individualized decision-making based on each patient's unique
circumstances.
Overall, this rotation has been one of the most valuable clinical learning experiences of my medical training...I am sincerely grateful for the mentorship and support I received throughout this experience, and I would gladly choose to rotate here again if given the opportunity.
SM
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