Entry requirements

Required previous knowledge is decided by the Committee for Undergraduate Medical Education.

Aims

The objective of this course is to provide elementary theoretical knowledge and practical skills in the discipline of surgery that will be of value to the student both during the subsequent part of the medical education programme and during his following career.

Special emphasis is placed on surgical diseases and diagnostic competence and on the ability to evaluate the indications for surgical intervention. Some training is given in minor diagnostic procedures. Special interest is paid to acute surgical conditions such as acute abdomen and trauma.

It is of special importance that the student obtains insight into the possibilities and limits of surgical therapy and into the pre- and post-operative care of the patients.

An important basic goal for the student is to achieve the ability to make contact with patients and to carry out an adequate dialogue when taking a medical history. The student will gain insight into the organisation of surgical care and will also obtain elementary theoretical knowledge and practical training in the emergency care of disaster casualties in war and peace.

Content

The following are the main areas:

General surgery

The acute abdomen: diagnostic modalities, observation, assessment and treatment

Acute trauma surgery

Gastro-enterological surgery

Vascular surgery

Endocrine surgery

Disaster medicine

Orthopaedic surgery

Neurosurgery

Plastic surgery

Thoracic surgery

Urological surgery

Paediatric surgery

Anaesthesiology

Clinical anatomy

Diagnostic radiology

Oncology and oncological surgery

Ethics

Within the different subspecialities the teaching covers the aetiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, therapy, prognosis and prophylaxis of various diseases. The aim is that after completion of the course the student shall be able to:

1. take an adequate case history, make a physical examination and correctly summarise his findings in a case record,

2. state the main principles for investigation and treatment of common surgical diseases,

3. describe how diagnostic and therapeutic aids are used in these surgical diseases,

4. diagnose and take care of emergency trauma victims according to the principles of ABC,

5. describe the principles for pre- and post-operative care and guidelines for parental nutrition,

6. perform simple diagnostic and therapeutic measures, such as intravenous and intramuscular injections, intubation, proctoscopy, rectoscopy, surgical excisions of skin lesions, incision of abscesses, and application of plaster of Paris.

Instruction

Teaching comprises 20 weeks, of which one week is used for studies before the written examination. The course includes formal lectures, demonstrations, seminars and specially arranged ward rounds.

Work on the wards covers a total of 16 weeks and is preceded by an intensive teaching period of two weeks, when the essentials of the different items in the course are taught. During service on different wards the student also participates in ward rounds, out-patient clinics and surgical operations. Attendance in the emergency department is also included, and on-call duty in the day- and night-time.

Assessment

To obtain a pass mark for the course, satisfactory presence during all clinical assignments and at tests held during these assignments is required. The required presence follows the rules laid down by the Committee for Undergraduate Medical Education. As a general rule absence for more than one week during the entire course has to be compensated for by an additional week?s attendance after the course.

Minor examinations are held in different subjects during the whole course and in conjunction with seminars. During the seminars practical clinical problems, often patient-oriented, are discussed and the students? knowledge is checked. To be able to participate in the written examination which is held at the end of the course, all students must have passed the minor tests and shown satisfactory attendance throughout the course. In addition to the written examination, the students will also perform a practical examination, the purpose of which is to assess their ability

1. to approach the patient in a tactful manner,

2. to take an adequate case history,

3. to make an adequate physical examination, and

4. to combine the case history and physical findings and thereby make an appropriate diagnosis and delineate steps for treatment and/or investigations.

The final mark is based on the results of the final written examination and the practical examination, also taking into consideration the performance and results during the course.