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Medical Student Training

3rd & 4th Year Medical Students

During the rotation, you will be exposed to a wide range of patients in the operating room and perioperative arena. Our goals are for you to experience and participate in excellent clinical care of patients, hands-on skills training and didactics, medical simulation, and classroom didactics. We will make this the best learning opportunity that we can. We expect you to be eager and involved in order for you to get the most education and experience out of your 3 to 4 weeks with us.

We would be more than happy for you to join us for a rotation if there is an opening. To enroll you will need to contact Christine Talbot-Bond in the Dean's Office. Christine can let you know what dates are available. You can reach her by phone at 843-792-2427 or by email at talbotbo@musc.edu.

3rd Year Student Rotation Options

This 1-week rotation is a brief introduction to anesthesia perioperative medicine. The student will be introduced to perioperative patient management and airway management along with commonly used anesthetic agents and anesthetic techniques. Teaching includes attendance at two to three lectures during the week, grand rounds, and possibly simulation training/education. Students will rotate through the ORs at University Hospital, Ashley River Tower, Shawn Jenkins, the VA, and Labor & Delivery.

This rotation is an introduction to general anesthesia management and encompasses the anesthetic subspecialties of pediatric, neurosurgical, cardiothoracic, obstetrical anesthesia, and pain management. The student will acquire a working knowledge of commonly used anesthetic agents, techniques, and airway management. Teaching includes attendance at resident-oriented lectures, grand rounds, and simulation seminars. Students will be in the Main hospital OR, and possibly the ART OR, VA OR, RT (Rutledge Tower), or Shawn Jenkins OR.

4th Year Student Rotation Options

The course is an introduction to general anesthesia management and encompasses the anesthetic subspecialties of pediatric, neurosurgical, cardiothoracic, obstetrical anesthesia, and pain management. The student will acquire a working knowledge of commonly used anesthetic agents, techniques, and airway management.

The pain management rotation is an opportunity for the student to learn the fundamentals of pain and pain management. The rotation is intended to provide an overview of the neuroanatomy, physiology, pathology, diagnosis, and treatment of pain. Students are exposed to a wide variety of disease processes requiring pain management, and these include acute, chronic, and cancer pain in the adult and pediatric populations.

Fourth-year medical students will work with an interdisciplinary care team led by Critical Care Anesthesiologists to manage critically ill cardiac patients in consultation with cardiovascular surgeons and cardiologists. Students will be directly involved in assessing, stabilizing, and treating critically ill patients with a variety of complex cardiovascular diseases. With supervision and guidance, students will be primarily responsible for their patients and will gain experience in developing clinical plans for critically ill patients. Students will become familiar with the basics of mechanical ventilation, shock and vasoactive medications, procedural indications, and end-of-life care issues in the ICU. Students will observe and potentially perform invasive procedures.

Visiting Students

Requirements include:

  • Your application must be completed through VSLO. Applications will open on April 1, 2025.
  • An up-to-date CV
    • Must include research publications or ongoing projects
  • Academic performance on M1-M3 years through your submission date
  • Proof of passing USMLE Step 1 / COMLEX 1 exam on the first attempt.
    • Students with any Step 1 / COMLEX 1 failures will not be considered.
    • Step 2 results will be required for residency application - A COMLEX Level 2 report cannot be submitted in lieu of a USMLE Step 2 report.
  • Letter of Reference from a faculty member that has worked with them extensively and can speak to their suitability for a career in Anesthesiology. The LOR can be from any subspecialty but Anesthesiology is preferred.

Information regarding the AHEAD Visiting Student Program can be found here.

Application for the AHEAD Visiting Student Program opens February 3, 2025 and closes May 31, 2025.