PUMS alumni include the surgeon who led the first face transplant in the US, what does that level of surgical training look like for students today?

valuemd (Admin)

Maria Siemionow, who led the first US face transplant at the Cleveland Clinic, graduated from PUMS. This thread explores the surgical training environment at PUMS, what clinical exposure looks like during the program, and whether the school has a particular strength in surgical disciplines.

nikhiljain9902 (Alumni)

Ok so I read about this on the school's website and it kind of sold me ngl. obviously one famous alum doesn't mean the whole program is geared toward surgery, but it made me curious, does PUMS actually have decent surgical exposure for students or is this just like a "look how prestigious our alumni are" marketing thing with no real connection to current students' experience.

ethancole772 (Aspiring student)

honestly her being an alum is more historical, like she graduated decades ago when the curriculum and even the school name was different I think. doesnt really reflect what current students get access to. that said the anatomy program here is intense, like genuinely intense, lots of cadaver lab hours which helps if surgery is ur goal

dwaynethomas5523 (Student)

can confirm on ethancole772 (Aspiring student) , our cadaver lab access is pretty generous compared to what I hear from friends at other schools. but for actual surgical exposure like OR time, that mostly depends on where you do clinicals not really PUMS specific. the affiliated hospitals here in poznan do let students scrub in sometimes during rotations though

nikhiljain9902 (Alumni)

oh interesting, so when you say scrub in, like are students actually doing anything hands on or just standing there observing mostly? trying to gauge how "real" the exposure is