The resident will rotate on the Pediatric Surgical Service for a period of two months. The resident will attend the General Surgical Conferences and any of the Pediatric or Pediatric Surgical Service Conferences that the Director of the service feels are appropriate. During the Pediatric Surgical Rotation the resident will acquire a knowledge of the disease entities pertinent to pediatric surgery, the management of surgical and medical thereof and will acquire the ability to deal with children and their parents.
Goals of the Rotation
The resident will acquire basic knowledge of pediatric surgery, including the physiology of premature infants, neonates, and children with relation to their fluids, nutrition, growth, and energy requirements. The resident will learn to recognize the difference in physiology, anatomy, fluid needs, blood requirements, etc, between adults and children.
The resident should be familiar with commonly used medications in the pediatric surgical patient. This includes medications for pain, antibiotics, antiemetics, cathartics, and seizure medications.
In the operating room the resident will be expected to learn correct pre-operative preparation such as prepping the patient, draping, monitoring, temperature control, etc. She/He will also be expected to acquire advancing mastery of general surgical skills such as tissue handling, instrument handling and knot tying, both open and laparoscopic. Particular to the pediatric rotation, the resident will be expected to learn to exhibit finesse in dissection and delicacy of technique. Knowledge of the choice of abdominal incisions and the technique of opening and closing the abdomen will be acquired.
As part of the Pediatric Surgery rotation, the resident will rotate to the Pediatric surgeon's offices. Here he will acquire and develop the skills to evaluate new patients with pediatric surgical problems and will learn how to follow patients with whose operative and postoperative care here is participated. The resident will also be expected to learn about pediatric surgical problems which are managed purely on an outpatient basis.
Attitude
The resident will be expected to demonstrate a satisfactory attitude towards learning, responsibility and communication with the pediatric surgical staff physicians. The resident will work as a member of the team. It is important to learn how to relate to children, and the rest of their families including their parents. The resident must learn to appreciate the parent/child interaction and to be sensitive to the emotional needs of children and their parents. The resident must be able to relate to the pediatric nursing personnel and caretakers. He/she must understand the social needs of children and the ancillary services available for their care. (Rehabilitation facilities, home hyperalimentation, VNA, social service, child abuse laws, etc.)