Department of Surgery

Education

The Department of Surgery has a rich history of education at all levels of learning. From the entering novice medical student to the most experienced practitioner, the educational contribution of our department significantly and positively impacts the quality of care throughout Vermont and the areas throughout the country where our graduates practice. The major focus of our educational programs lies in Medical Student Education, Resident Education, Continuing Medical Education and Skills Labs.

Medical Student Education

Beginning in the early years of medical training, students at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont are exposed to a number of our surgical staff who participate in several modules of the Vermont Integrated Curriculum. As the students enter the clerkship years, the exposure to surgery is comprised of a seven week experience that highlights general surgery but allows elective exposure to the surgical specialties. Through a unique “mentoring” program, the students are assigned to interact and learn from a single primary mentor which allows in-depth exposure to patient care in the ambulatory, inpatient, and operating room setting. A formal didactic curriculum enhances the clinical exposure with faculty-led, case-based, interactive sessions on the full spectrum of surgical disease and its management. During the rotation, the students are liberally exposed to the learning opportunities of the simulation laboratory for task and team training skills. Through a successful coordinated effort, students assigned to the affiliate teaching sites in the Western Connecticut Health Network receive equivalent learning experiences in their surgical rotations with the support of highly enthusiastic clinical faculty. In the fourth year of the Vermont Integrated Curriculum students are required to complete four weeks of a surgical sub-specialty rotation. Students often use this opportunity to explore sub-specialties that may be related to future career goals or broaden their general clinical knowledge.

For those students declaring an interest in a surgical career, the department offers a unique opportunity to focus on a variety of surgical experiences through the Senior Surgery Major program in the fourth year. In this program, the student will also complete a research project under the guidance of one of the surgical faculty. The results of these projects are presented at an annual surgery research forum which is a highlight of the year. In the waning days of medical school, the surgery majors complete a month long surgery residency readiness program (i.e. “Boot camp”) in which they hone their technical, diagnostic and professional skills in preparation for a surgical residency experience.

Our faculty participates in the educational activities of medical students at all levels. While each division has specific course offerings, the majority of medical student programs fall into the following major categories: