ACE: Cardiac Surgery

School of Medicine

The cardiac surgery rotation will allow students exposure to the diagnosis, evaluation, and surgical management of coronary heart disease, heart valve disease, and aortic disease in adult patients. Students will follow an apprenticeship model with an attending cardiac surgeon each week where they will have the opportunity to evaluate patients in clinic and understand their anatomy and physiology, clinical evaluation, and decisions on management. They will be introduced to cardiac echocardiography, chest CT, cardiac MRI, and cardiac catheterization. Students will be involved in cardiac surgery operative procedures and will be expected to follow the management of the patient in the post operative period in the CVICU and stepdown unit. Students will have opportunities to observe acute aortic dissection repair, ventricular assist device implantation, heart transplant, and/or organ recovery. At the end of the rotation the student will be expected to give a short patient presentation at the conclusion of the rotation. Visiting students: this course is not directly associated with the general surgery program and is not associated with selecting medical students for general surgery interviews.