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Surgery Clerkships

Memphis

Director: Martin Fleming, MD
Phone: 901.448.8370 
Contact: Courtney Bishop: 901.448.8370

Eight-week rotation: four weeks of general surgery/trauma/ICU and clinic at the Regional Medical Center at Memphis, and two weeks of vascular, cardiothoracic, pediatric surgery or transplantation along with two weeks of Baptist, St. Francis, the VA, or Methodist (student choice). Call at the Med is complicated, however, overall it results in call every sixth night. An extensive lecture series is provided, along with suturing and skills labs. In addition, several interactive meetings occur with select surgical faculty, during which the students present cases and the whole group (no more than 12) discuss the disease processes. Students also attend the same conferences as the residents, including basic science and Grand Rounds. All rotations include clinic experience. About half of the evaluations of student performance are completed by faculty; the other half by surgical residents.

Please visit our website Third Year Surgery Clerkship for more information.

 

Chattanooga

Clerkship Director: J. Daniel Stanley, MD
Clerkship Coordinator: Breanna Lomnick
Contact Information: Breanna.Lomnick@universitysurgical.com
Academic Office Phone: 423.778.7695
Website: Surgery Clerkship (Chattanooga)

The Chattanooga Core Surgical Clerkship is an eight-week rotation encompassing services such as General Surgery, Acute Surgical Services, Trauma, Vascular and Pediatric Surgery. Throughout the rotation, students are given an extensive lecture series catered to the NBME examinations which are taught by both our faculty and resident teams, attend weekly resident conferences such as Basic Science, Grand Rounds and M&M, and they participate in hands-on training courses and skills labs to further their technical skills. Students will be assigned seven call nights during the eight-week period which will include one, non-consecutive Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The objective of this clerkship is to familiarize the student with the basic pathophysiologic, diagnostic, and therapeutic modalities involved in the art and science of surgery. The fundamentals taught in this rotation will be of benefit to individuals of any medical division, providing an insight to patient care he or she may have yet to experience.

An addition to the core curriculum, the Chattanooga Department of Surgery also offers a variety of Career Exploration courses for our M3 students and four Junior Internships for our M4 students. You can learn more about these courses by following the links provided below. If you have any questions regarding these opportunities, please feel free to contact us.

For more information about the Chattanooga Clerkships visit: 

 

Knoxville

Clerkship Director: Michael McNally, MD
Clerkship Coordinator: Jody Huffaker
Contact Information: JHuffaker1@utmck.edu
Phone: 865.305.4353
Website: UT Graduate School of Medicine: Department of Surgery

The Surgery Department’s 8-week Clerkship can accommodate a maximum of ten students per rotation. Wide-ranging exposure in General Surgery, Trauma, Critical Care, Pediatric Surgery, Vascular Surgery, Transplantation, and Surgical Oncology is available. Each student will be assigned to two 3-week rotations on the General/Trauma/Surgical Oncology Surgery service and a 1-week rotation on the Pediatric, Vascular, Oncology or Surgical Critical Care services. Student interests in certain specialty areas are accommodated whenever possible. Please contact the Clerkship Coordinator for rotation and leave requests at least 30 days prior to the start of the clerkship. 

A 2-day orientation starts the rotation, which includes a suture course and aseptic technique and basic skills review. Although a great deal of time will be spent in the operating room, students will also be expected to attend outpatient clinics and work with different Attendings seeing pre- and post-operative patients. Each surgery service has a designated student "Mentor". Students will meet with their current service mentor weekly to review the History and Physical note of a patient that the student has seen during that week. Throughout the rotation, emphasis is placed upon developing skills needed by primary care physicians in surgical diagnoses and appropriate referral. 

Required lectures are scheduled throughout the week and scheduled surgical conferences (M&M, Grand Rounds, Resident Conference and Professorial Rounds) are on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Students are required to attend the regular surgery conferences. All general course objectives directly reflect those of UTHSC for the Surgical Core Clerkship, however, specific lecture objectives may vary slightly - all with the same goal of preparing the student for both the NBME Surgery Shelf Exam and the on site Oral Exam. 

Students will take call every fourth night with the call ending at 11:00 pm. Meal tickets will be provided to students on their call nights. Each student will also work one weekend within the eight-week period. This leaves all remaining weekends for study, rest, and recreation time. 

Each student will receive a mid-term evaluation from the Clerkship Director of a faculty member where student strengths//weaknesses will be discussed. Student needs for the remainder of the rotation will also be addressed at this time. Final evaluations will be completed on the standardized UTHSC form by both Attendings and Residents who have worked directly with the student. 

A full-service, user friendly medical center library is available to students at all times, as well as newly renovated call rooms. Students interested in a rotation in Knoxville can contact Student Affairs at 865.305.9618 for information on short term housing solutions. 

Since the number of students on the surgery rotation is small, students have the opportunity to receive individualized attention from the staff. Faculty members are passionate about the field of surgery, well known throughout the country for their expertise, and dedicated to teaching.

Feb 14, 2023