| What
is SSIG? |
SSIG (Surgical Student Interest
Group) is a student-run organization designed to provide activities
and greater exposure for medical students interested in surgery
as a future career. During the 2000-2001 school year, we implemented
a variety of new programs to do just that! We try and work
closely with the USC
Department of Surgery to provide as many opportunities
to learn as possible. We have developed a
curriculum
for interaction with the Department of surgery, and
host a variety of one-of-a-kind events.
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| What
does SSIG do? |
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Lectures |
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we
usually have 5-6 lectures a year on a variety of interesting
topics (which includes FREE lunch). Past topics have included:
- life as a surgeon, what it is like to be married and
raise a family
- different forms of surgery and what they entail day
to day
- how to get into different surgical residencies
- and many more! |
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Shadowing |
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Students
can sign up to shadow a surgical team for an evening.
This is an excellent opportunity to see what everyday
life is like, to see practical applications of what you
are learning in the classroom, and to see some pretty
cool stuff. To sign up, ask our SSIG
President.
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Workshops |
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SSIG
sponsors surgical workshops for first and second year
students. These workshops teach basic surgical skills,
including how to scrub in, several suture techniques,
and inserting IV's. This is one of our most popular programs,
and the skills you acquire here will serve you well both
on your clerkships and throughout your careers. To sign
up, simply reply to the e-mail that will be sent to your
class when the time comes.
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Mentoring |
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As
an SSIG member, you can sign up to have a surgeon as a
mentor. In the past, students have been able to meet with,
shadow, and perhaps even do research with their mentors.
This program is designed to give students a one-on-one
opportunity with someone in the field to answer all of
their questions.
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Mixers |
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SSIG
sponsors mixers with residents, faculty, and other med
students where you can get up close and personal with
people who have answers to all your questions. |
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Field
Trips |
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SSIG
sponsors "Surgical
History" field trips in conjunction with
the Department of Surgery. Every spring, a group of fourth
year students travel to a location of importance in surgical
history to tour the site and learn. Past destinations
have included Johns Hopkins and Harvard's Massachussetts
General Hospital. Future destinations might include the
Mayo Clinic, the University of Michigan, and even the
Bilroth museum in Vienna, Austria.
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Research
Competitions |
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As
a part of your second year required student project, students
may participate in the MedSTARS
research competition sponsored by the USC Department
of Surgery. The winners are selected to present at a department
grand rounds in the spring and compete for a free trip
to a surgical conference. |
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| How
can I get more involved in SSIG? |
Join! Membership dues are $20
for two years or $40 for all four years. To get on our e-mail
list serve, send an e-mail to our Vice
President of membership. With your memebership,
you get the following benefits:
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-First priority signups for
the Surgical workshops |
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-One of our SSIG T-shirts |
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-The chance to participate
in the SSIG Mentor program |
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-Priority access to the surgical
curriculum available through the state of the art surgical
skills lab. |
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-A chance to participate
in the MedSTAR Research Program during your second year,
which may result in an expenses paid trip to a national
conference to present research. Learn more here. |
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-And much, much more! |
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| Who
is in charge of SSIG? |
The second
year officers
are in charge of organizing all the activities of SSIG.
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| Can
I buy one of those awesome SSIG T-shirts? |
| Absolutely! You get
one free with membership, or you can contact one of the SSIG
officers to buy one for $15. |
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| Does
SSIG do anything for 3rd and 4th year students? |
| Yes! Check out
this
page, designed specifically for 3rd and
4th year medical students. It gives information essential to
your clerkship years (including the foregut rotation), applying
to surgical residencies, and a lot of other information you
may find extremely useful. |
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| How
do I sign up for surgical shadowing? |
| Good
Question! When you sign up for our SSIG mentor program (one
of the benefits of membership),
you can arrange to shadow your surgical mentor. We are also
working on other shadowing opportunities that are both fun for
you and not too impinging on our great surgical faculty. |
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| How
do I sign up for the surgical workshops? |
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This is easy! Simply reply to the e-mail we
will send to your class midway through the year about this
amazing opportunity. Remember to signup early, as space is
limited. Priority is given to SSIG members, although anyone
can sign up.
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| What
are these Surgical History Field Trips I've heard about? |
| I'm glad you asked!
Go
here to learn more about what they are, where we
have gone, and where we might be going in the future! |
| How
can I find out what a career in surgery is like? |
| We have
several opportunities for you to find out more information.
You can start by visiting our Surgical
Subspecialties page. This will give you an idea of
what career possibilities are available. Next, you may want
to check out one of our events
(such as a resident or attending pannel). Finally, take a look
at the curriculum
we have developed in association with the Department of
Surgery. All of these will give you a pretty good idea of what
a career in surgery is like. |
| What
is the Resident Readiness Elective and how do I enroll? |
|
Another fantastic question. The Readiness
Elective allows 4th year students the chace to revisit the
anatomy lab, after having seen some surgery and re-acquaint
themselves with the anatomy. It also allows them to practice
central lines, intubating, and running a code situation on
our SIMS model - all essential skills to survive and excell
as a stellar intern. Learn more here!
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| What
is the MedSTARS Program? |
| MedSTARS stands for Medical STudent
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| Why
isn't my question up here? |
| We may not have thought
of it, so don't heisitate to contact one of our officers
to get your question answered now!! |
