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Physician ID:
244
Hours:
Monday - Friday 8 AM to 5 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: Austin
This inpatient and outpatient experience will take place approximately 60 miles from downtown Austin.
Inpatient/Outpatient US Clinical Experience in General Surgery in Austin
Specialties: General Surgery
Location: Austin
Price:
Hospital Letterhead: Yes
Faculty Appointment: No
Information about this clinical experience:
This is an inpatient and outpatient rural general surgery experience during which you will be under the supervision of a board-certified general surgeon. In the 1990s, over 25% of rural general surgeons in the U.S. were international medical graduates. Today, IMGs continue to play an important role in providing surgical care to rural populations.
According to the American College of Surgeons, there are 15 general surgery residency programs that have a special focus or track related to rural surgery:
Rural General Surgery Residency Programs
Residency Training in Rural Surgery
Rural Surgery Training Programs in the United States: A Review of the Literature
Rotators will spend most of their time in the operating room scrubbed in with the surgeon or the surgeon's colleagues. On Tuesday and Thursday mornings, the cases will be focused on general surgery and will include breast surgery (biopsy, mastectomy, lumpectomy), cholecystectomy, appendectomy, hernia repair, excision of larger masses, and other procedures. On Mondays and Wednesdays, there will be opportunities to scrub into orthopedic cases (total shoulder, hip, knee replacement; knee/shoulder arthroscopy, fractures). Friday mornings will be spent in the OR performing endoscopies.
When you are not in the operating room, you will be in the outpatient clinic. At times, you will be able to observe procedures in the office, including biopsies and excisions. Patients will also be seen for initial consultations and follow-up visits. Of note, many patients will be seen for wound care.
The attending recommends that students read about the next day's cases to make the most of the learning opportunity in the operating room. Per the attending, a useful resource is Surgical Recall.
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.
Spending time in the operating room (per hospital policy, rotators are permitted to scrub in).
Have opportunities to research the literature to answer clinical questions at the point of care.
Spending time with other healthcare professionals to understand their roles and responsibilities.
The activities above will mostly take place in the outpatient setting. As a result of hospital policies, inpatient activities will be more observational.
Who should consider this rotation:
International medical graduates (IMGs) and students seeking US clinical experience in surgery.
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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