Ochsner Health is a system that delivers health to the people of Louisiana, Mississippi and the Gulf South with a mission to Serve, Heal, Lead, Educate and Innovate.
Surgery - Medical Student Electives
General Surgery and Sub-Specialties (4 weeks)
Course Objectives
To provide fourth-year medical students with an advanced experience in General Surgery and possible sub-specialties. Students will apply and expand their knowledge of surgical disease through direct patient care and operative experience.
Course Outline
Each student will rotate for two weeks on two busy clinical services, typically acute care and minimally invasive surgery, with possible opportunities in breast surgery, surgical critical care, endocrine surgery, surgical oncology, and vascular surgery. Students will participate actively in all phases of diagnosis and treatment alongside resident and attending staff. Activities include daily work rounds, evaluation of pre- and postoperative patients in both the hospital and clinic settings, and assisting in the operating room. Students will attend all regularly scheduled academic conferences. Evaluation, diagnosis, and management of surgical disease, as well as understanding of clinical pathophysiology, are especially emphasized for the student. There is no on-call requirement, though students may choose to shadow an intern on-call once a week. This fourth-year elective rotation is designed for students interested in pursuing a career in General Surgery or one of its subspecialties.
Orthopedic Surgery (4 weeks)
Course Objectives
To permit medical students to observe the diagnosis and treatment of patients with a wide variety of orthopedic problems. The students have the opportunity to learn the scope of this surgical specialty.
Course Outline
The student is assigned to four staff orthopedic surgeons and their residents for a period of one week each, thus having the opportunity to participate in the treatment of a variety of orthopedic conditions since members of the department have subspecialties within the specialty. The student sees patients in the clinic, makes rounds with the staff orthopedic surgeon and the residents, scrubs in on the surgical cases, and assists in the reduction of fractures and the application of casts. He or she also attends all of the teaching conferences of the department.
Please log in to the Visiting Student Learning Opportunities (VSLO) for full details and application process and to view our elective catalog. Electives are approved with a maximum of one 4-week elective rotations and are based on academic merit and availability. Because the selection process is highly competitive, we ask that students please allow a minimum of 8 weeks for proper approval.
Please Note
Because of our increasing number of affiliate partnerships and the high demand for educational rotations at Ochsner, opportunities for visiting students from nonaffiliated schools may be limited.
Visiting students are responsible for locating and securing their own transportation, housing, and meals during the elective rotation(s).
We recommend that final housing and travel arrangements are deferred until enrollment has been confirmed in the event that we are unable to accommodate a specific course request.
All information requests must come through the UGME Office of Student Services.
Accepted students will be required to provide a completed Attestation Form signed by an authorized school representative, attesting to the student’s compliance with Ochsner requirements. This form must be submitted before the application can be processed. Students who receive a denied application for not submitting proper documentation cannot reapply for the same dates. The requirements are as follows:
- OIG/GSA Verification
- Personal health insurance documentation
- Immunization titers (MMR, Varicella)
- Proof of completed hepatitis B vaccine series
- Proof of annual TB skin test
- Proof of seasonal flu vaccine (for students rotating between December-April)
- Clear criminal and sexual offender background check
- Clean urine drug screen performed by a SAMHSA-approved laboratory
- Valid American Heart Association-issued Basic Life Support card
*Additionally, all students must submit proof of malpractice coverage from medical school, with limits of liability of $1,000,000/$3,000,000.
Ochsner Clinic Foundation
Undergraduate Medical Education
1401-A Jefferson Highway
Academic Center, First Floor
New Orleans, LA 70121
Electives@ochsner.org
