4th year Medical Students

Electives

SURG 9012 – SURGICAL ETHICS
DIRECTOR: Dr. Michael Shapiro LOCATION: University Hospital
DURATION: 4 weeks
WHEN OFFERED: Throughout the academic year by permission
NUMBER OF STUDENTS PER ROTATION: 1
PREREQUISITES: Preapproval from course director
DESCRIPTION OF COURSE: This elective is designed to build upon prior knowledge of Bioethics gained in the first three years with particular emphasis on ethical questions related to the surgical care of the patient. Students will participate in surgical rounds and the operating room on General Surgery/Surgical Oncology, and using those patient experiences, examine ethical questions such as informed consent, shared decision- making, intrinsic bias, futility, organ donation and allocation of scarce resources, management of complications and disclosure of error, the role played by biopsychosocial factors in treatment decisions, etc. Students will round with the resident team as well as the course instructor, and in the Surgical ICU as appropriate. Students will meet with the instructor to discuss ethical issues arising in the care of the patients, and prepare at least two presentations of topics of mutual interest. Students will also attend the monthly UH Bioethics Committee meeting.

SURG 9020 - ADULT CARDIOTHORACIC SURGERY
DIRECTOR: Dr. Huzaifa Shakir (shakirhu@njms.rutgers.edu) LOCATION: University Hospital
DURATION: 4 - 8 weeks
WHEN OFFERED: Throughout the academic year
NUMBER OF STUDENTS PER ROTATION: 1
PREREQUISITES: None
DESCRIPTION OF ELECTIVE: The Adult Cardiothoracic Program includes cardiac, thoracic and esophageal surgery and will include working with the cardiac and thoracic attendings. The student will participate in Cardiothoracic conferences in which cardiac catheterization data, X-rays, angiography and other pertinent clinical data are discussed. He/she will participate in decision-making in regard to the necessity for, and types of, surgery done. Pre-operatively, the patient will be evaluated and both during the time of surgery and in the postoperative course, the student may become an essential member of the team. The goals and objectives are for the medical student to become familiar with both cardiac and thoracic diseases and types of surgical therapy offered. At times during the rotation, there will also be opportunities for research work in this field.

SURG 9061 - TRANSPLANTATION SURGERY
DIRECTOR: Dr. James Guarrera and Dr. Flavio Paterno
LOCATIONS: University Hospital and Doctors Office Center
DURATION: 2 or 4 weeks
WHEN OFFERED: Throughout the academic year
NUMBER OF STUDENTS PER ROTATION: 1
PREREQUISITES: Medicine, General Surgery
DESCRIPTION OF ELECTIVE: During their rotation on the Transplant Surgery Service, students will be able to participate in all the surgical procedures performed in the section. These include multiple organ procurement, liver transplants, and various hepatobiliary procedures. In addition to the operative experience, students will be exposed to pre- and post-operative management of patients with various liver disorders. There is also a strong emphasis on bedside and operating room teaching regarding the various aspects of transplantation science. The student will participate actively in didactic sessions and conferences that are a regular part of the daily routine. They may be given the opportunity to present a topic that is of interest or one may be assigned to them during the rotation. Students participating in the 2 week elective will not be responsible for making a presentation. On the other hand, if the student is highly motivated to make a presentation during the shorter elective, the desire to do so will be granted based upon scheduling restrictions and the flow of service demands.

On the rotation, if students are interested in directly participating in transplant surgeries, they are encouraged to be available 24 hours a day (with compensatory time off). This is due to the fact that most of the donor procurements and transplant procedures are unpredictable and often occur during off-hours. For similar reasons, weekend participation in transplant procedures (not rounding) is highly encouraged. Compensatory time off will be allotted/assigned as indicated.

SURG 9100 – GLOBAL SURGERY
DIRECTOR: Drs. Ziad Sifri and Harsh Sule
LOCATION: Sierra Leone, Ghana, Peru, other sites
TBA DURATION: 4 weeks
WHEN OFFERED: Please contact Dr. Sifri and/or Dr. Sule for permission, must be arranged during a block in which a surgical mission will occur.
NUMBER OF STUDENTS PER ROTATION: 6
PREREQUISITES: Students are highly encouraged to participate in the Global Surgery non-credit elective prior to this clinical rotation.
DESCRIPTION OF ELECTIVE: The Global Surgery Elective will be offered in collaboration with ISHI (International Surgical Heath Initiative) in several Low and Middle Income countries (LMIC) where surgical missions are organized. Each country offers a unique surgical and cultural experience for the student to experience in-person. In order to receive credit, satisfactory completion of the following three components is required: 1. Development of a scholarly project; 2. Participation in a surgical mission; 3. Provide feedback
At the start of the elective, the student will agree with the mentor on a scholarly project. The project could be a write up, poster presentation, or a talk. Option# 1) The write up must deal with a subject relevant to Global Surgery in the specific region chosen for the elective and it must be 4-6 pages in length, double-spaced. It can compare and contrast the US and the host country’s health care systems and delivery of surgical care. Option #2) The poster presentation should involve a project performed during the elective abroad. Option #3) The talk should include details of the surgical mission, student’s responsibilities, surgical diseases encountered, and lessons learned (and given to the NJMS ISHI student club). The scholarly project selected by the student is not graded but is required to successfully complete the course.

In the host country, students will be involved in clinical care of surgical patients from urban and rural areas under direct supervision of NJMS surgical faculty. Through these experiences, students will gain knowledge of access to surgical care, burden of surgical disease, challenges to deliver care in a resource-limited environment, and common diseases specific to the host countries. The student will learn how to communicate and provide culturally effective care to patients and learn about issues related to health equity in these settings. The student will learn about the local surgical care and how to develop innovative solutions with limited resources.

Prior to departure, each student will be required to have a travel consultation with a physician from the Student Health and Wellness Center. Additionally, travel must be considered safe by the Rutgers Office of Risk and Claims. This determination is made in conjunction with the NJMS Office of the Registrar and is based upon the U.S. Department of State travel alerts, advisories, safety and security statements. The safety decision made by these offices is considered final. Travel expenses are the responsibility of each student. Following participation in the host country, each student will also be required to complete a standard student feedback evaluation form about their learning experience at the global health site.

SURG 9181 - PLASTIC SURGERY
DIRECTOR: Dr. Edward Lee ADMININSTRATOR: Amy Stolar
LOCATION: Ambulatory Care Center, E-1620 DURATION: 4 weeks
WHEN OFFERED: Throughout the academic year
NUMBER OF STUDENTS PER ROTATION: 4
PREREQUISITES: Surgery and Medicine Clerkships
DESCRIPTION OF ELECTIVE: The elective is designed to introduce students to the field of plastic surgery. Its emphasis is directed towards the understanding of wound healing, skin physiology, grafts and flaps, reconstructive surgery of the head and neck, extremities and chest, treatment of both acute and reconstructive hand injuries and cosmetic surgery. In addition, there will be an emphasis on microvascular surgery and its application in plastic surgery. The student will attend all plastic surgery academic conferences and will participate in ward rounds, clinic and surgery. The student will be expected to present a clinical case with discussion at plastic surgery grand rounds at the end of the rotation.
This elective is recommended for students interested in general or plastic surgery. This course is required for all applicants to a plastic surgery residency.

SURG 9595 – MINIMALLY INVASIVE AND WEIGHT-LOSS SURGERY

DIRECTOR: Drs. Danbee Kim, Daniel B. Jones, and Bao-Ngoc Nasri.
LOCATION: University Hospital
DURATION: 4 weeks
WHEN OFFERED: Throughout the academic year
NUMBER OF STUDENTS PER ROTATION: 1
PREREQUISITES: No
DESCRIPTION OF ELECTIVE: This elective is designed to provide the medical student with exposure to minimally invasive surgery and weight-loss surgery/management. Students will have the opportunity to evaluate patients in the office both prior to and after surgery, participate in working with patients enrolled in our multidisciplinary weight-management program, observe minimally invasive surgery (including robotic surgery) in the operating room, and follow patients admitted to the hospital after surgery or who require consultation by MIS/bariatrics. Students will also be able to learn about how to use the robot, do simulations such as basic laparoscopy (FLS), robotic simulations, as well as the complex workup and preparation of weight-management for patients with obesity.