Surgery About Us Message from the Chair Life in Orange County Contact Us Education & Training Clerkships Surgery Residency Program Fellowship Programs Continuing Medical Education Research Faculty & Labs Scholarly Activity Clinical Expertise Divisions Cardiothoracic Surgery Colon and Rectal Surgery Emergency General Surgery Gastrointestinal and Bariatric Surgery Hepatobiliary and Pancreas Surgery Pediatric General and Thoracic Surgery Surgical Oncology Transplantation Surgery Trauma, Burns, Surgical Critical Care and Acute Care Surgery Vascular and Endovascular Surgery Faculty Clerkships Home About Campus & Community Resources Surgery: Education & Training > Clerkships MD Student Surgery Clerkships & Electives The Department of Surgery offers a range of electives and clerkships to students from within and outside of the UCI School of Medicine. A list of all UCI School of Medicine electives is available on our MD Program Electives page. MD Program Electives Clerkships Trauma, Burns, Critical Care and Acute Care Surgery Surgical Critical Care Clerkship Surgical Critical Care clerkships are available to fourth-year medical students from qualified medical schools. The clerkship rotation is for a period of four weeks. As many as five students may be admitted to the service at one time, with scheduling preference given to UCI School of Medicine students. The format is based on: Daily rounds with the surgical intensive care unit (SICU) team A defined didactic lecture series Chalkboard discussions A reading program Acute Care Surgery/Trauma and Burn Services Clerkship Acute Care Surgery/Trauma and Burn Services clerkships are available for third- and fourth-year medical students from qualified medical schools. The rotation is for a period of four weeks. As many as four students may participate at one time, with scheduling preference given to UCI School of Medicine students. The format is based on: Daily rounds with the team A defined didactic lecture series Chalkboard discussions An independent reading program Surgical Oncology UCI offers medical students a rich educational experience in the treatment of many common malignancies. In addition to our high-volume melanoma program, our experienced surgical oncologists specialize in thyroid and parathyroid cancer, breast cancer and sarcoma. Along with clinical and technical experience, students are exposed to the latest clinical trials and basic science research in each disease. Our comprehensive clerkship program offers the opportunity to evaluate patients at the UCI Breast Center. Trainees rotating on the surgical oncology service receive a syllabus at the start of the rotation and additional educational material chosen by the faculty. Vascular and Endovascular Surgery The Vascular and Endovascular Surgery clerkship program provides an opportunity to learn about a variety of disorders that affect the arterial, venous and lymphatic circulatory systems. Third-year medical students are given an opportunity to rotate with UCI Health’s vascular and endovascular surgery services team as part of their core general surgery curriculum. Fourth-year medical students may elect to participate in an intensive, month-long experience during which they learn the fundamentals of vascular disease diagnosis and treatment from our vascular/endovascular faculty and senior surgical residents. Faculty instructors provide clinical care covering the entire spectrum of the subspecialty. Students also work closely with faculty members and residents in the inpatient wards, operating rooms, catheter labs and outpatient clinics. In addition to the teaching provided at the bedside, operating room and clinic, the division offers many educational opportunities, including Grand Rounds, vascular/endovascular ward rounds, didactic sessions and clinical specialty conferences. This comprehensive educational experience exposes students to patients with many different types of vascular conditions, both in a hospital setting and in the clinics. By the end of this rotation, students should be highly skilled in the diagnosis and treatment of the various vascular disorders and know how to complete a comprehensive vascular examination. Extramural Students Students from other accredited medical schools are invited to electively rotate in an intensive, month-long experience with UCI’s vascular and endovascular surgery services team. Extramural students must successfully complete their core general surgery rotations at their home institution before applying for this rotation. UCI participates in the Visiting Student Learning Opportunities (VSLO) program. Therefore, any student enrolled at a U.S. Liaison Committee on Medical Education medical school will use VSLO to apply. VSLO website Visiting Fourth-Year Medical Student Rotations The Department of Surgery offers visiting student rotations on all core surgical services within the department. The Department of Surgery encourages all interested students to apply as early as possible. The department offers four-week electives in surgical oncology, minimally invasive/gastrointestinal surgery, hepatobiliary surgery, vascular surgery, advanced trauma/critical care, surgical intensive care and burn care management. Each of these rotations provides an excellent opportunity to advance clinical skills in preparation for postgraduate training, regardless of specialty. U.S. & Canadian Medical Students U.S. and Canadian medical students should submit their applications through the Visiting Student Learning Opportunities website. Foreign Medical Students Foreign medical students may submit requests to the foreign medical student coordinator via email at comextra@uci.edu. DEI Visiting Sub-I Scholarship UCI strives to foster a diverse academic community by supporting and training today’s medical students from a variety of backgrounds to be tomorrow’s surgical leaders locally and globally. The Department of Surgery offers two DEI Visiting Sub-I Scholarships, which allows students the opportunity to experience excellent surgical training at UCI through a four-week rotation on one of our surgical services from July to October. Selected applicants will receive a $2,000 reimbursement stipend during their rotation to help offset the financial burden of travel and housing. How to Apply Applicants must have successfully completed an MS3 core clerkship and be in good standing with their home institution. To apply, complete the Visiting Student Learning Opportunities application, and submit the following information in one document via the submission website. Current CV One page personal statement Statement should describe applicant's interest in surgery, future career goals and commitment to diversity. Letter of recommendation Medical school transcript The application deadline is April 30. Recipients will be notified via email by late June. Contact Us For questions about the different clerkship opportunities or assistance with applying, please contact Staci Reichenecker, medical education coordinator, at reichens@uci.edu.