• Welcome
• Introduction
• Clerkship Expectations
  • Patient Assignments
  • Kinds of Workups
  • Call
  • Outpatient Clinic
  • Operating Room
  • Conferences
  • Evaluation Process
  • Grade Review Process
• Overview
  • Goals
  • Description
  • Infection Control
  • Protected Time
  • Illnesses/Absences
  • Dress Code
  • Priority List
• Core Curriculum Objectives
  • Specialty Objectives
    • Cardiothoracic
    • Colorectal
    • Emergency Medicine
    • General Surgery
    • Neurosurgery
    • Orthopaedics
    • Otolaryngology
    • Pediatrics
    • Plastic Surgery
    • Trauma
    • Urology
    • Vascular
  • Additional Readings
• Current Clerkship
  • Call Schedule
  • Specialty Schedule
  • Orientation Schedule
• Administration
• Links
• Department Home

Cardiothoracic Surgery Junior Medical Student Elective

Goal: The goal of this elective is to provide the student with the opportunity to observe common conditions that effect heart, lung, esophagus and intrathoracic contents that are treated in a surgical fashion. Most commonly, this will involve coronary artery disease and valvular heart disease, lung cancer, emphysema, esophageal cancer, and esophageal reflux.

Objectives: At the conclusion of this week, the student will be able to:
1. Perform a comprehensive history and physical exam pertaining to the cardiac and pulmonary systems.
2. Describe the management of common cardiothoracic surgical problems; specifically, coronary artery disease, aortic stenosis, mitral insufficiency, lung cancer, emphysema, esophageal cancer and gastroesophageal reflux disease.
3. Understand the unique perioperative management skills required of the post-operative cardiac patient.

Participating Faculty: Stephen R. Hazelrigg, M.D., William Pyle, M.D., Carl Arentzen, MD, William Stevens, MD., and Christina Vassileva M.D.

Course Description:
During the elective, the student will follow the team in the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, which includes a third-year general surgery resident, a physician assistant, and the nurses, as well as the CT surgeon, on rounds and in managing inpatient problems. They will also attend surgical clinics to see the patients as outpatients and will scrub in and observe all operations performed in the operating room.

Number of Students: up to 3
Evaluation: The student will be asked to submit a history and physical examination on one of the patients seen during the week. This will be reviewed, returned to the student and discussed. In addition, the student will be evaluated at the end of the week using the standard evaluation form based upon performance in all of the areas, inpatient, outpatient, and operating room. The students are required to set up two - three half hour teaching sessions with Dr. Vassileva during their assigned week. Call Rhea Bartlett @ 545-8875 to set those up.

Call Requirement: None
Contact Person: Tony Grasch PA-C, MPAS pager 744-8640.

Hotline: The next day’s surgery schedule is available via the “hotline” to each hospital’s cardiac surgery area. St. John’s gets recorded after 4:00 pm 757-6775. Memorial’s gets recorded after 8:00 pm, 788-3443.

We operate in the cardiac surgery suites on 6D at Memorial Medical Center and the 3rd floor of the Prairie Heart Institute at St. John’s Hospital.  Pediatric cases are usually performed in the neonatal ICU.

If you are not in the operating room we encourage you to join us in the clinic setting or on rounds.  Below is the clinic schedule and location:

Monday at 9:00                       Dr. Hazelrigg               Simmons Cancer Institute
Monday at 9:00                       Dr. Stevens                 5th floor of the Prairie Heart Institute
Tuesday at 8:00                      Dr. Pyle                      5th floor of the Prairie Heart Institute
Tuesday at 8:00                      Dr. Vassileva               5th floor of the Prairie Heart Institute
Wednesday at 8:00                 Dr. Arentzen                5th floor of the Prairie Heart Institute