Director(s): John Adams, MD, FACS

Location: Morristown Medical Center

Duration: 4 weeks

Offered:

Throughout the academic year
1 student per month; rotation starts on the first Monday of the month

Prerequisites: Successful completion of all 3rd year clerkships, specifically medicine and general surgery

Description: The surgical ICU rotation fully integrates 4th year medical students into the critical care team. This involves active participation in ICU work and teaching rounds, clinical tasks and independent study. A working knowledge of ventilator management, nutrition, types of shock, pressor support and antibiotic usage will be demonstrated by the students at the end of the rotation and will prepare them for their first post-graduate year.

Learning experience:

Students will:

Become an integral part of the team, managing patients undergoing GI surgery
Participate in daily bedside rounding with the attending staff and present at least one patient per day
The verbal presentation and the required chart notation will be based on a systems review with daily planning and decision making within this structure
Suggest clinical management decisions with approval of the supervising resident or attending physician
Receive didactic teaching centered around a monthly conference with varied topics
Attend a monthly Journal club; surgical grand rounds; and surgical morbidity and mortality
Prepare a 20-minute presentation on a topic of choice
Interact with the consultants and the primary surgical attending physician
Apply mechanical skills, including pulmonary artery and arterial line insertion

Goal:

To provide medical students with the clinical skills and cognitive abilities required for decision-making and problem-solving in diseases that require critical care consultation or intervention

Objectives:

The objectives of the Critical Care Sub-Internship will be achieved by providing a structured, supervised clinical experience in an inpatient setting and through problem-based didactic teaching and directed reading. Specific objectives, the activities performed to achieve them and the methods of assessing whether they were achieved, include:

Identify conditions for which critical care intervention or consultation is necessary
Understand the scope and limitations of surgical therapy for ICU diagnosis
Identify key components of the physiology, pathophysiology and supportive measures in critical care and how they affect outcomes
Grasp the principles of postoperative care
Communicate clinical information in an efficient and reliable manner
Appreciate fundamental technical skills necessary for surgical care
Acquire the knowledge necessary for the care of critically ill patients
Establish an effective relationship with patients and patients’ families

Feedback & evaluation: The attending preceptor will provide feedback throughout the rotation. A final, written evaluation will be completed at the end of the rotation.

Medical students program