The Implementation and Assessment of a Perioperative Co-Management of Surgical Services Rotation for Medical Students

To develop a hospital-based perioperative surgical co-management curriculum rotation to provide educational value to fourth year medical students, many of whom are future surgical trainees. We leveraged our Hospitalist service which comanages patients with many surgical subspecialties to teach students about preoperative optimization, postoperative management of both acute medical issues and chronic comorbidities, and the interprofessional team for surgical care.

Medical students were assigned to surgical co-management services on two to four week rotations. In addition to inpatient rounds with a multidisciplinary team, students were taught through a case-based didactic curriculum and weekly journal clubs.

Keck Hospital of University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California PARTICIPANTS: Forty-three fourth year medical students RESULTS: Seventeen fourth year medical students in the 2018-2019 academic year and 26 fourth year medical students in the 2019-2020 academic year completed our rotation. The students rated the rotation 4.88 out of 5 in the 2018-2019 academic year and 4.73 out of 5 in the 2019-2020 academic year in developing their confidence, knowledge, and clinical skills.

A structured course on perioperative co-management for medical students is a valuable learning experience and can be implemented at other medical schools. For surgical trainees, this course provides a unique perspective on their own prospective fields, working in the role of their future Hospitalist partners.