General Surgery Residency Columbia - Visiting Medical Students
Surgery acting internship
The Surgical Acting Internship (AI) is designed to give students who are interested in a career in surgery the opportunity to further develop their critical thinking and clinical skills. This is accomplished through both the inpatient and clinic setting and will be completed on a traditional academic service with a full complement of attending faculty, residents, and students.
The rotation is split, with the AI serving two weeks on the hepatobiliary/surgical oncology service and two weeks on the emergency general surgery service. The order of the rotations will be determined in advance of the start date and will be dependent upon the total number of students on rotation that block.
The AI will be expected to function at or near the level of an intern, and therefore will be expected to meaningfully assist in the operating room, see new consults, see clinic patients, and assists with rounds and discharges. The AI should carry a significant number of patients (at the discretion of the chief resident), perform tasks efficiently, and should strive to be a necessary part of the surgical team. Additionally, AIs are expected to be actively involved in the education of junior medical students. All clinical work performed by the AI will be supervised by the appropriate residents and/or faculty.
Educational material will be presented to the students through various platforms in addition to the clinical realm. Both the surgical oncology and the emergency general surgery services have specific didactic sessions. Additionally, all AIs are expected to be present for the weekly departmental education series, consisting of Grand Round and Morbidity and Mortality conference (Friday mornings from 7-9:30 AM). Finally, the AIs are expected to participate in the residents’ weekly board preparation (Thursday evenings from 5-6 PM).
The AI will culminate in a mini thesis. This is to be at least a four-page paper, single spaced, exploring the surgical pathophysiology of one patient whom they encountered. This should be an advanced level work that is thoroughly referenced and be done in the manner of a case report worthy of publication. It is due the Monday after the completion of the rotation.
Application process
Acceptance into the visiting student acting internship is contingent upon a timely application and space availability. The successful application will have a completed VSLO application with the following components:
A curriculum vitae
A medical school transcript
A letter of intent stating the reasons why you chose this rotation will help you achieve your career goals.
At least one Letter of Recommendation
Please note that we follow the academic schedule of The University of South Carolina School of Medicine (Columbia) and thus have the following dates available. These are not flexible. Please indicate your date preferences on your application.
07/08/2024 - 08/02/2024 // 08/05/2024 - 08/30/2024 // 09/02/2024 - 09/27/2024
09/30/2024 - 10/25/2024 // 10/28/2024 - 11/22/2024 // 11/25/2024 - 12/20/2024
The application portal opens April 1st; kindly have your applications in as close to that date as possible. We will strive to have reviewed all applications and offer internships around the second week of May.
Application Deadline: 14 day(s) before start of elective
If you have any questions, please address them to Whitney.Ayers@uscmed.sc.edu