Allen O. Whipple Surgical Society

Surgeons from various fields are invited to speak to medical students about their areas of expertise, research, and reasons for pursuing their given field. These informal forums encourage students to ask questions and learn more about what it means to be a surgeon and the process of becoming one.

The Transplant Procurement Program is a unique and exciting opportunity for first-year preclinical students to accompany and scrub in alongside the transplant team. Students are “on call” during an assigned period. If an organ becomes available, the transplant surgery fellow alerts the student pager coordinator, who pages the on-call student. The student travels with the transplant team, often by air, to assist in the procurement, and, if permitted, the transplantation upon return.

The Renal Transplantation Shadowing Program allows a student to follow a patient throughout the day of her renal transplantation. The student meets the transplant recipient in the morning, goes with the patient to the operating room, observes the transplantation procedure, and may visit the patient after she wakes up. This experience offers a realistic view of a day in the life of a transplant surgeon and fosters student-patient interactions. For more information about this opportunity, email Doris Leddy at dl642@cumc.columbia.edu.

Students have the opportunity to shadow a faculty member for the day in the clinic and/or operating room to gain firsthand exposure in a specific field. All of the participating surgeons have expressed interest in mentoring preclinical students, thereby maximizing the teaching experience and fostering student-faculty mentoring relationships.

One of the best parts of a career in surgery is performing procedures. Our group works with surgical residents to teach students basic suturing skills and laparoscopic surgery techniques using simulators.