Core Curriculum Objectives

At the conclusion of this rotation, all students should be able to:

1. Demonstrate an adequate knowledge of surgical diseases by passing the NBME Surgical Shelf Examination.
2. Demonstrate adequate clinical reasoning by successfully passing the Standardized Patient Examination.
3. Display professional behavior and function effectively as a member of a health care team.

To assist in meeting the above knowledge and objectives the following conditions are those for which students are expected to perform focused history and physicals and provide management plans.

a. Abdominal Pain
b. Colorectal Disease
c. Breast Disease
d. Hepatobiliary Disease
e. Hernia
f. Trauma

From the following list of problems, students in the clerkship are expected to perform focused history and physicals and provide management plans for at least six of the following:

a. Ear Pain
b. Throat Pain
c. Joint Disease/Injury
d. Spinal Disease/injury
e. Arterial insufficiency
f. Venous Disease
g. Cardiac Disease
h. Lung Disease
i. Skin and/or soft tissue disease or injury
j. Benign Genitourinary disease or injury
k. Malignant Genitourinary disease
l. Brain Injury
m. Neck Mass

Perioperative reports must be written on twelve of the required cases as listed above. One of the twelve required must be on one of your trauma patients even if none of them go to surgery. These reports should include chief complaint, what examinations and/or tests were performed that led to the diagnosis, a list of alternative treatment options (e.g. medical versus surgical), potential risks involved with the treatment that was chosen, the list of patient problems, and the management plan (all patient problems identified must be addressed in the management plan). Six of the twelve must be completed by the mid-point of the clerkship.

• Acute Abdomen/ Hernias
• Anorectal Disease
• Breast Disease
• Colorectal Disease
• ENT I
• ENT II
• Heart Disease
• Lung Disease/ GERD
• Ortho I
• Ortho II
• Pediatric Surgery
• Perioperative Care
• Plastics I
• Plastics II
• Trauma
• Urology I
• Urology II
• Vascular I
• Vascular II