Description

Students function as part of the cardiovascular surgery team in the preoperative evaluation, operative treatment and postoperative care of patients. Students have the opportunity to individually evaluate patients and have those evaluations reviewed by a Mayo consultant.

Specific goals

1. Gain thorough exposure to the evaluation and treatment of patients with congenital or acquired heart disease.
2. Become familiar with, and confident in, the postoperative management of critically ill patients.

Activity outline

Students are urged to spend a few evenings and nights in the intensive care unit to learn postoperative management. The advantages and limitations of hemodynamic monitoring are stressed, along with the physiological responses of patients to medication and transfusion interventions.

Students attend and participate in surgery. They also attend clinical rounds and have some patient responsibility (e.g., workups and assessing diagnostic problems). They participate, under supervision, in preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative care. In addition, they attend consultations on patients at the clinic, as well as conferences in which cardiovascular surgery is involved.

Method of evaluation

Students are evaluated on the basis of their day-to-day performance, participation in rounds, and response to specific assignments given by the consultants and the residents.

If you are interested in meeting with the General Surgery Residency leadership, an informational session can be arranged. Please note this meeting is to discuss any questions you may have about the General Surgery Residency program. This meeting will not be considered an interview for the General Surgery Residency program, and completing a visiting medical student clerkship at Mayo Clinic does not guarantee you an interview spot.

Per Mayo Clinic institutional policy, faculty and residents/fellows will not complete any outside evaluations. You will be provided with an electronic performance evaluation via Mayo Clinic’s MedHub portal. A final summative evaluation will be sent to you and your school official upon completion of your clerkship.