1 / 24

Navigating Surgery Student Life

A comprehensive guide for surgery students to excel in their education and professional development. Tips on assertiveness, professionalism, learning tactics, patient care, and more. Learn the ropes and progress confidently in the medical field.

kamala
Download Presentation

Navigating Surgery Student Life

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. How to be a surgery student Guide to getting an A…and learning about surgery along the way

  2. Be assertive • If you’re not doing something, figure out something to do. • Be a volunteer to do whatever is asked

  3. Be professional • Wear nice clothes to all clinics and conferences • Don’t wear tongue rings to work • Do what is asked and don’t complain

  4. Read before each case • This is the key to learning surgery • A little bit goes a long way • Ask the resident what they are reading to prepare for the case • Also read after the case because everyone learns a little more each time

  5. Help out • Move patients in the OR • Help prep the patient and put in the foley • If an extra note needs be written, write it • Ask to write the orders

  6. Surgery is a hierarchy • And you are on the bottom • Start with your intern for a question or help then gradually move upwards • Don’t call the attending directly • Have respect for your superiors. They’ve earned it

  7. Decide on a specialty • This is the most important career decision to make • If it’s surgery, we’ll like you more • If it’s not, we’ll joke that you aren’t part of the team/culture, but really you will be respected for knowing what you want to do and being honest

  8. Be honest • Enough said • Liars get Fs for grades

  9. Be eager to learn • All residents and staff can tell which students want to learn and which ones are just trying to get through the day • This is YOUR education that you are paying for and will be important in YOUR career

  10. Practice tying and suturing outside the OR • Be ready when your chance arrives • People don’t appreciate you practicing on their patients

  11. DO everything for your patients • This is why we went into medicine. If you went into it for money, you made a bad mistake • Walk with them, talk with them, and sympathize with them

  12. Know and follow up with your patient • See them in clinic, in preop holding, and for a post op check • If they have an interesting test, go watch it so you can learn and report back quickly to the team with the results • It’s better to know everything about 1 or 2 pts than nothing about a lot

  13. Go with what you know • No blank stares • Give a guess with a reason, you probably are right • No one expects you to know anything • If you’ve really got nothing, say “I don’t know. I’ll find out and tell you tomorrow”

  14. It’s a team game • Be in the OR the whole time with your patient from when they go to the holding area to the recovery room • Don’t go sneak off and eat while your residents are working • We’ll go sneak off and eat together

  15. Go above and beyond • Figure out what might be important for your patient and ask if that might be a good plan • Learn about your patients and surgeries. YOU may figure out the answer to their problems. Then you get an A for sure

  16. Accept blame • Everyone respects you more if you just say you made a mistake • Say you’ll do it differently next time • Don’t waste everyone’s time arguing why you aren’t wrong. Guess what, you’re wrong

  17. Realize what is going on • It may be busy or critical in the OR. Now may not be the time to ask the attending about the paper you read last night • DO not talk (especially when with a patient) if your resident or staff are talking. They know what to say and do. It is rude to try and “help”

  18. Don’t go it on your own • Don’t decide you can put a central line in yourself and not tell anybody • Say you would like to try it and ask for help when there is an opportunity

  19. Don’t make the residents look bad • Don’t answer questions in front of them when they don’t know the answer unless you are asked • They are the main people you work with and will not like you if you show them up

  20. We know what’s going on • Don’t BS the residents and staff • They’ve all done everything you’ve done and a whole lot more • If you try to pull a fast one, we’ll know

  21. Don’t stand out in a bad way • Don’t anger the attending or resident • Don’t do something bad to a patient • Don’t be mean to patients and nurses • Don’t be arrogant

  22. Be focused and efficient • Present briefly. Tell what is asked of you. Don’t elaborate • Know everything but give the important details. If someone then asks you what the toenail exam is, you can say, “Medium length, curved, with a small piece of cotton at the medial aspect”

  23. Oh by the way…. • Surgery is not special • Do all of this stuff on all of your rotations • We’re just more willing to yell at you about it

  24. Famous surgery sayings • See one, do one, teach one • Eat while you can, sleep while you can, and don’t F with the pancreas • There are three “S” of surgery. Sex, Scotch, and surgery. The key is to be able to do all three at once

More Related