Medical Student Curriculum

Basic Science (1st and 2nd years)

A variety of surgical faculty and residents assist in the teaching of medical students during their basic science training. Just a few of our outstanding teachers are listed here.

Tutors and Lecturers:

Histology Laboratory Teaching Assistant and Doctoring I tutor: Dan DeUgarte, M.D., Resident, General Surgery

"Angiogenesis" and "Major Concepts in Oncology": Mai Nguyen, M.D., Assistant Professor, Division of Surgical Oncology

Summer Research Program:

Abbas Ardehali, M.D., Assistant Professor, Cardiothoracic Surgery

James Andrews, M.D., Professor, Division of Head & Neck Surgery, Vestibular Lab

Doctoring and Fundamentals of Clinical Medicine Courses - Tutors and Lecturers:

Mark Litwin, M.D., Associate Professor, Department of Urology

Edward Livingston, M.D., Associate Professor in Residence, Division of General Surgery

Susan Love, M.D., Adjunct Professor, Division of General Surgery

Delford Williams, M.D., Martin Luther King/Drew Medical Center

Core Curriculum (3rd year)

At the time of this publication, the core curriculum is undergoing a complete revision. This text reflects the medical student curriculum which will go into effect in June, 2000. Students currently in their third year will complete their core training in the previous fashion, with some of the changes being integrated into their training.

Students complete their clinical core curriculum during their third year in training. This includes 12 weeks of surgery-in-general. All faculty and residents in the Department of Surgery are involved in the teaching of medical students in some capacity, on the wards, in the operating room, during lectures and conferences, and by example. The core curriculum has been revised from a traditional in-patient hospital based experience into a balanced in-patient and ambulatory clinical experience.
     There are three sections to the course: the Introductory Week, the General Surgery Rotation, and the Ambulatory Surgery Rotation. The Introductory Week is a period of introductory lectures and workshops which are designed to prepare the students for the Surgery course. They are instructed on the basic material that they will encounter during the course. During the Introductory Week, the students have no clinical rotations or on call duties.
     The General Surgery Rotation emphasizes the basic skills of physical examination and clinical diagnosis, as well as a fundamental knowledge base directed towards the medical generalist. The duration of this rotation is 5 1/2 weeks. Students are assigned to one service and remain on that service for the duration of their rotation. The focus of the General Surgery rotation re-emphasizes physical examination and diagnosis of the general surgery patient. Students participate in the in-house clinical services. These services are expected to emphasize the out-patient clinical experience which they offer.
     The Ambulatory Rotation offers all students the opportunity to learn and practice skills of physical examination in the setting of an ambulatory care environment. This rotation also offers an introduction to subspecialty surgery. The duration of this rotation is 5 1/2 weeks, rotating between the Orthopaedic, Urology, Anesthesia/Ophthalmology, and Otolaryngology services. The focus of the Ambulatory Rotation is the instruction of physical examination and clinical diagnosis in the ambulatory care setting. This rotation gives the student the opportunity to learn the skills required to perform an Orthopaedic examination, a Urologic examination, and Otolaryngological examination, an Ophthalmological examination and a General Preoperative Evaluation (Anesthesia).
     Regardless of service rotation, the student is expected to participate in the Surgery Course educational program, the weekly lecture series and Problem Based Learning sessions.
     At the end of the 12 weeks, students will take both a written an oral examination.

Clerkship Directors
Center for Health Sciences/ Hugh Gelabert, M.D.
West Los Angeles VA/
Olive View Medical Center

Harbor/UCLA Medical Center Fred Bongard, M.D.

Course Chairs
Center for Health Sciences Hugh Gelabert, M.D.
Olive View Medical Center Jesse Thompson, M.D.
West LA VA Medical Center Edward Livingston, M.D.

Course Coordinators
Center for Health Sciences Rebecca Bernstein
Olive View Medical Center
West LA VA Medical Center
Harbor/UCLA Medical Center Joyce Pelham

Student Electives (4th year)

Following completion of the core curriculum, students in their 4th year complete 27 weeks of elective clerkships. The Department of Surgery offers a variety of elective clerkships in all divisions.
     The redesign of the 4th year curriculum is still a work in progress. Committees consisting of faculty and students are currently working on the details. A draft of the "Students Guide to the Fourth Year" outlines the concept of the electives curriculum. At the beginning of the fourth year, students will join a "medical college" which will serve as their educational and administrative base. Each college consists of a group of students and faculty who share common interests, coming together for the purposes of increasing the effectiveness of the educational experience and providing for career and personal mentoring while promoting diverse and individualized experiences for the fourth year student.
     Each student will have their choice of the Primary Care College, the Structural Biology College, the Intensivist College, and the Subspecialties/Academics College. Students interested in general surgery or a surgical subspecialty will enroll in the Structural Biology College.
     There will be five basic parts to the curriculum: required block courses, selectives and electives, a continuity experience, longitudinal seminar series, and a final scholarly work.
     Please contact the Department of Surgery, Surgery Education Office at (310) 825-6643 for updates on the development of the fourth year curriculum.

Residency Application Process

During the fourth year in medical school, students begin the residency application process. Typically, students will begin requesting applications in the summer at the beginning of their fourth year and will interview for the various training programs from October through January of that year. Most training programs in the Department of Surgery participate in the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) for the final selection of their residents. While some programs have early match dates, most are in mid-March.
     In the next several pages, following specific information on each training program, are details regarding the application requirements, deadlines, and match dates for each of the surgical training programs in the Department of Surgery at UCLA. Please feel free to call the listed telephone number to request an application or further information.