Medical Students

Medical students from North America, Asia and Europe come to the Department of Surgery for our world-class electives. 

We were the first Canadian university to offer an MSc in Surgical Education and our surgeon-scientists win international and national teaching awards and write chapters in text books. Their passion to teach makes our instructors global leaders in teaching innovation and surgical education research.

Another special feature we offer is a team of full-time administrators dedicated solely to supporting medical students: part of our community who makes a big place intimate.

Having relatively few fellows gives medical students the opportunity to gain experience in the operating room across spectrum of subspecialties with a high volume of cases per learner.

We offer one of Canada’s few full-dissection, cadaver-based programs.

We access nearby state-of-the-art clinical, teaching, and research facilities, including the Cross Cancer Institute: the world’s most advanced cancer molecular imaging centre.

The one-of-kind, brand-new Kaye Edmonton Clinic exemplifies what we offer: a million patients a year, the full range of subspecialties, and award-winning, innovative teaching.

Our surgical simulation program is one of the few that is accredited by The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Full surgical teams train in the RRSMRI: a unique facility combining training, research and innovative surgical procedures. There is a straight line between this, and our global leadership in surgical simulation research: creating the future of surgical training.

Dr. Jonathan White, a member of the surgical simulation team, has pioneered peer-to-peer and non-didactic methods of instruction for medical students and surgical trainees. His ‘Surgery 101’ website provides videos and notes, which have been viewed more than five million times worldwide. These training resources cover numerous surgical topics, including diagnosing, staging and treating cancers.