In this episode, Dr Jonathan White provides an introduction to the surgery clerkship. After listening to this episode, learners will be able to:
- describe what a surgery clerkship is
- explain the purpose of the surgery clerkship
- list the 3 different types of students who are in the surgery clerkship
- describe what students are supposed to learn in the surgery clerkship
This, for me, was the money quote:”In most cases, surgeons are not tauhgt how to teach anything, let alone surgical skills. For many years, it has just been assumed that any surgeon (or any doctor in any specialty) is an excellent teacher. Of course, this is not so. However, teaching is not particularly valued or rewarded an academic medicine. On the other hand research is, especially research that brings in grant money.”Although I’m not entering a surgical residency, I think the teaching emphasis and capabilities should never be under appreciated. Many applicants are attracted to big-name training facilities busting at the seams with grant money and research opportunity (I am arguably entering one, myself). That’s fine, but probably not ideal for residency, during which time the focus should really be on honing your skills as a surgeon or, in my case, clinician (especially in neurology where the neurological exam is paramount). Perhaps research power, money and esteem should be weightier considerations for fellowship or post-residency employment, and residency applicants should better sniff-out the pedagogical robustness of training institutions.