MEL 8831: Surgical Oncology

Dr. John Kiluk

Prior Approval Required: Students interested in a Surgical Oncology elective at Moffitt need to contact John Kiluk to plan their rotation. Timing of the elective may be dependent on availability of faculty that can be influenced by national meetings and vacations. 

This elective is designed for medical students who wish to gain an in depth experience in surgical oncology. The course is based at the Moffitt Cancer Center, a comprehensive cancer center designated by the National Cancer Institute. Students would be offered their choice of disease sites to focus their rotation on that include: Breast, GI, GU, GYN, Head and Neck, Cutaneous, or Thoracic,. Students would be expected to participate in every aspect of patient care including: outpatient clinics, operative procedures, inpatient rounds, and tumor boards.

Objectives

1. Expose students to the role of the surgeon in the diagnosis, management, and surveillance of cancer patients.
2. Expose students to the importance other disciplines (medical oncology, radiation oncology, pathology, etc) play in the management of cancer patients.
3.  Introduce students to various emotional responses of patients to cancer and how best to manage these responses.
4. Expose students to the basics of clinical research in the care of cancer patients.
5. Educate students on advantages and disadvantages to different diagnostic tests, surgical choices, chemotherapy regimens, radiation, and screening techniques. 

Methods

The student will be assigned to work with surgeons based on disease sites. These sites include: Breast, GI, GU, GYN, Head and Neck, Cutaneous, or Thoracic. Students may elect to spend four weeks with one site or two weeks with two different sites. Students would be expected to participate in every aspect of patient care including: outpatient clinics (surgical as well as 2 days of medical oncology and 2 days of radiation oncology), procedures, inpatient rounds, and tumor boards.

Evaluation

The student will be evaluated by the course director at the end of the course. The evaluation will be based upon feedback and written evaluations of the student's clinical performance by the attending surgeons that the student worked with. The course will be designed to be satisfactory or unsatisfactory.

Pre-requisites

This course is available to Year 3 students who have taken BCC 7144 Integrated Internal Medicine-Pediatrics Clerkship and BCC 7164 Surgical Care Clerkship.