Inpatient/Outpatient US Clinical Experience in General Surgery in Tucson

Information about this clinical experience:

This rotation split between the inpatient and outpatient settings will be under the supervision of a board-certified general surgeon with years of experience educating U.S. medical students as well as international medical students and graduates. The physician serves as a faculty preceptor for osteopathic medical students from Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine.

In the hospital, you will join the physician for surgical call. The physician is on call one to two times per week for a 24-hour period. During this time, the surgeon will be present in the hospital and available to handle the emergent and urgent surgical needs of patients coming to the emergency department. You will learn how to perform a focused and accurate history of new patients in the ED with acute surgical needs and develop a diagnostic plan.

The hospital component will also include time spent in the OR where you will observe the preceptor perform a range of surgeries. You will also be involved in the postoperative care of patients and learn how to recognize and manage common conditions such as fever, hypoxia, and confusion.

One half day per week, you will attend wound care clinic with the preceptor. This will be an important aspect of your experience as the prevalence of chronic wounds is significant in the U.S. population. There is substantial morbidity and mortality associated with many types of chronic wounds, and delayed or inappropriate care can lead to amputation; therefore, being skilled in the delivery of optimal wound care is important. Unfortunately, residents training in the U.S. often do not receive sufficient training in this area and this can lead to errors that have a significant impact on patient progress and healing. Your exposure to patients with chronic wounds in this clinic will allow you to determine the factors that have led to its development and develop a targeted plan to properly treat the wound. You will note that the care of these patients can be complex requiring a multidisciplinary approach.

You will also spend time in the physician’s outpatient clinic where you will assess patients referred to the preceptor for evaluation of surgical issues. You will also see patients for follow-up after surgery.

Through this experience, you will be exposed to several different EMRs, including NextGen in the office, WoundExpert in the wound clinic, and Cerner in the hospital.

During your experience, you will learn the following U.S. medical practices under the preceptor’s supervision:

• Taking patient histories under supervision.

• Performing exams under the physician's supervision.

• Scrubbing in and observing surgeries in the operating room.

• Presenting patients.

• Writing or entering progress notes in the EMR (NextGen in clinic and Cerner in hospital)

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

• Educating patients under supervision.

• Spending time with other healthcare professionals to understand their roles and responsibilities.