Slide 1

• Surgical H&P and Consultations

• Daily Progress Notes and Presentations

• Post-Operative Notes

• What should I be doing throughout the day?

Surgical H&P’s and Consultations

For this and all other clerkships, there should be no such

thing as the undifferentiated patient. You should try and

obtain as much information regarding your patient as possible

before seeing them; a process otherwise known as a “chart

biopsy”. This information may be gathered from EPIC and/or

PACS/McKesson (radiology); you should start your note as you

review this data. When you interview the patient you should

confirm or deny any pertinent information you have

reviewed and direct your questioning and physical

examination in accordance with the information you have

gathered thus far.

Surgical H&P’s and Consultations

Chart

Biopsy/PMHx

Labs/Imaging

Chief

Complaint

BROAD

Differential

Diagnosis

Narrowed

Differential

Diagnosis

Directed

questioning

and physical

examination

Before patient encounter During patient encounter

Surgical H&P’s and Consultations

Narrowed

Differential

Diagnosis

Develop A/P

After patient encounter

Goal of patient encounter

1. Continue to develop and hone interview and

physical examination skills.

2. Develop a differential diagnoses.

3. Develop a treatment plan.

4. Efficiency (<15-30min).

HPI

• O P Q R S T ?

HPI

• ONSET

• PAIN LOCATION

• QUALITY

• RADIATION

• SEVERITY

• TIMING

• EXACERBATING FACTORS

• ALLEVIATING FACTORS

• PRIOR EPISODES

• ASSOCIATED SI/SX

• ? PT’S DIAGNOSIS

Presentations and Notes

• Treat them as formal presentation

• For complex HPI, give 1-2 liner followed by

chronologic events

• Okay to say “my differential is”

• Always think global about plan

• For surgical patients, think “what intervention

if any does this patient need”

Pre-Rounds

• Give yourself enough time

• Obtain sign-out from night team, read overnight

notes, check-in w/ overnight nurse

• Check vitals, labs, cultures, imaging, consults

• SEE YOUR PATIENT

• ALWAYS attempt assessment/plan…and ask for

feedback!

• Write/sign progress note

AM Rounds Presentations

• Presentations on morning rounds should

proceed in the following order:

1. One liner about patient prior 24s

2. Vitals

3. I/O’s

4. Labs

5. Imaging

6. Medications

7. Physical Examination

8. Assessment and Plan

Progress Notes

98.6

98.2

68 80

125-147

82-95

93% 98%

95%

2L NC

2.79L

1.79L

50ml/hr

1.5L

250 350 500

10 10

Fluids, feeding

tubes, TPN

given as rates

Outs given per

8hr shift

Daily Progress Notes

• Focused physical examination.

• Report significant changes in laboratory

values with previous value indicated in

parentheses.

• Include updated microbiology.

• Include patient’s medications.

Include Medications in this order:

1. Anticoagulation: SQH, heparin gtt, Lovenox, ASA,

coumadin

2. GI ppx (H2B or PPI)

3. Cardiac related medications (b-blockers, anti-

hypertensives, etc.)

4. Antibiotics (try to include day #, i.e. 2/7 and know WHAT

you’re treating)

5. Other important home meds (synthroid, psych meds,

etc.)

6. Pain medications

Post-Op Checks

• Post-operative checks are a formal means of assessing how

a patient is doing following an operation and if necessary,

to make appropriate changes in the patient’s post-

operative care.

• This should be performed 4 to 6 hours following an

operation.

• A note should be written and will become a part of the

medical record.

– Pt is a __yo M/F with (diagnosis that required operation) now s/p

(operation).

– Intraoperative complications, issues with anesthesia, intubation, significant

events since OR

– Current complaints from patient

– Operative I/Os: IVF, blood products, EBL, UOP

– VS, Physical Exam, don’t forget about new tubes, lines, drains

– Labs, imaging since coming out of the OR (don’t care about intra-op labs)

A: Summarize patient as above

P: Easy things to include:

- Wean oxygen, IS/pulm toilet, encourage ambulation, diet, pain control, wound care,

when to resume important home meds (look at the patient’s post-op orders).

What to include in post-op note

Post-Op Note Example

Patient JW is a 44 y/o WM with a PMHx of HTN and distal 1/3

rectal cancer s/p neoadjuvant chemoradiation who underwent

a low-anterior resection and diverting loop ileostomy.

Procedure was complicated by significant bleeding during

ligation of the sigmoidal artery. Pain control was poor in the

PACU requiring additional dilaudid and he was hypertensive

with SBP’s in the 190’s requiring 20 mg of labetolol.

Role on Rounds

• Surgical services are the most efficient teams

in the hospital, be prepared and efficient

• See your patient and have your note prepared

• Gather computers rounds

• Okay to enter room ahead and take down

dressing I needed

What to do during the day

• While much can be gained from OR, even more from daily

management

• Tasks = patient care and learning efficiency

– “run the list”  listen when we do this, take notes just as

we do, and follow up accordingly.

– Take an active part in management of patients

• Be prepared for the OR

– Read about the patient

– Study anatomy

• Prepare for M4 when you’ll carry more responsibility

Surgery Clerkship DON’Ts

• Use a clipboard, show up to conference in scrubs, wear your

stethoscope around your neck

• Lie/make things up (lab values, H&P…)

• Leave the OR to ______ unless instructed to do so

• Ask to go to bed/leave/etc.

• Mess up the census

• Use cell phone or text on rounds

• Be afraid to offer a plan

• Blow off this rotation if you’re not interested in surgery…

Surgery Clerkship DOs

• Practice your presentations

• Pay attention during rounds, check the boxes

• Read for cases, know the anatomy

• Act interested

• Help with floor stuff, census (but don’t mess it up)

• Eat/pee before a long case

• Ask questions! Why?

Dot phrases

• .hpcon

• .shortprog

• .systemap

• .dcsumm

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