Rotations 

Rotations include:
Clinical Dermatology – 9 months
Dermatopathology – 1 month
Dermatologic Surgery – 1 month
Inpatient Dermatology/Consultations – 1 month

Year 3
At the PGY-3 level, opportunities are provided to develop independent clinical judgment, to sharpen one’s diagnostic skills, and to begin the acquisition of more sophisticated surgical skills. The PGY-3 resident becomes the rotation coordinator and is given an opportunity to build independence and leadership skills.

Rotations include:
Clinical Dermatology – 9 months
Dermatopathology – 1 month
Dermatologic Surgery – 1 month
Inpatient Dermatology/Consultations – 1 month

Year 4
During the final year of clinical training, the chief resident manages the general services. The main goals of the chief year are to:

• become familiar with the complex clinical problems that constitute the basis of tertiary referrals,
• develop a well-organized multi-system approach to complex problems, and
• assume leadership of the team with responsibility for both patient care and resident/medical student education.

All chief residents on a rotating basis share administrative responsibilities for the residency program.

Rotations include:
Clinical Dermatology – 4 months
Dermatopathology – 2 months
Dermatologic Surgery – 2 months
Inpatient Dermatology/Consultations – 2 months
Elective – 2 months

Conferences

The educational program offered at Drexel University Department of Dermatology is designed to offer direct hands-on learning grounded in a formal educational program that teaches clinical dermatology and the basic sciences principles that underlie it. Our major teaching conferences are described below.

CHAIRMAN’S CONFERENCE
The Chairman’s Conference is held weekly on Wednesday mornings. This is primarily a differential diagnosis session with unnamed slides presented to the residents for review and discussion backed with clinical evidence from major dermatologic publications.

GRAND ROUNDS
Grand Rounds are held on Thursday mornings. This conference is organized and managed by the residents. The format is case presentations followed by questions posed to the faculty regarding case management. This conference is approved for CME credit.

DUHRING CONFERENCE
Named for the first Chief of Dermatology at the University of Pennsylvania, Louis A. Duhring, M.D., is held on Thursday mornings. The Conference consists of two components:

First, patients are presented for discussion of their diagnosis, histopathology, treatment and review of pertinent medical literature.

Second, the Duhring Lecture allows for presentation of the latest material by recognized experts in their filed. This event provides an opportunity to interact with outstanding figures in the world of dermatology. This Conference provides an outstanding educational forum and is accredited by the American Academy of Dermatology.

The dermatologic society of Philadelphia strives to remain close and recognizes all academic programs as valuable resources. The opportunity for academic growth is always open and that is why this conference is attended by not only residents and faculty of the University of Pennsylvania but also by residents and faculty from other Philadelphia training programs, community physicians and often other invited specialists.

JOURNAL CLUB
Journal Club is an important part of resident education as it explores the most recent literature and clinical findings in the field of dermatology. Held on Thursday mornings, Journal Club focuses on recent articles found in The Archives of Dermatology, the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, and a wide array of investigative and medical journals. Articles are selected in advance for review and study, the day of the conference topics are presented by the chief resident then the floor is open to a discussion among residents and faculty.

DERMATOPATHOLOGY
This conference is held at two different sites. The fist one is done in weekly fashion on Tuesday mornings at the Hahnemann Clinic. The second conference takes place twice a month at the Institute for Dermatopathology in Conshohocken.

VISITING PROFESSORS
Periodically, Visiting Professors are invited as guests of the Chair. These distinguished individuals are nationally and internationally known dermatologists with fields of interest representing the scope of our specialty.

TEXTBOOK REVIEW
Chapters from leading dermatologic texts are assigned in advance by the chief resident and reviewed during these weekly sessions.

BOARD REVIEW QUIZ
This is a weekly quiz given in preparation for the In-Training examination administered every April by the American Board of Dermatology and directly linked to subjects discussed during the Textbook Review.

MULTI-DISCIPLINARY CONFERENCES
Attendings review topics with the residents on a weekly or bi-weekly basis pertaining to the particular patient disease seen in clinic throughout the course of that week.

READING TIME
Each resident receives approximately ½ day per week for study time and reading

REGIONAL AND NATIONAL MEETINGS

• American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting: The AAD spring meeting is attended by our PGY3 and PGY-4 residents.
• Pennsylvania Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting: This meeting is attended by our PGY2 through PGY-4 residents.
• Philadelphia Dermatologic Society Grand Rounds: This is a monthly meeting attended by all of our residents including the interns in the Department of Internal Medicine.
• College of Physicians of Philadelphia: This society is also open to all of our residents including our interns.
• Superficial Anatomy and Cutaneous Surgery, Scripps Clinic: This is only offered at the PGY-4 senior level residents.

Research

Residents are encouraged to participate in research projects with the faculty. These projects may include clinical-pathologic correlation studies, clinical reports, clinical research related to dermatologic surgery, or a dermatopathology study. All residents are encouraged to submit abstracts for presentation and any of the local or national professional meetings. Opportunities are also available for the residents to conduct research with faculty members in other departments in the university.

Evaluations

RESIDENT EVALUATION SYSTEM
Faculty members on a given service are asked to evaluate resident performance at the end of the resident’s rotation. Evaluations serve as a basis for the biannual review of each resident’s performance. Potential problems are identified and referred to the program director as they arise. A database system houses all of the evaluation information and is updated on a monthly basis. This gives the program director the residents’ overall and individual category averages. Faculty is encouraged to discuss evaluations with the residents and residents are free to comment on any unfair evaluation they may have received.

ROTATION EVALUATION SYSTEM
Residents evaluate each rotation anonymously by using the GME Toolkit on-line program. The accumulated database has proven valuable in helping to make the changes necessary to provide a more comprehensive and resident-friendly environment.

FACULTY EVALUATION SYSTEM
Residents are given the opportunity to evaluate each faculty member in an anonymous fashion by using the GME Toolkit on-line program. The accumulated data is used by the chairman and presented to the faculty promotions committee.

PROGRAM EVALUATION SYSTEM
On an annual basis and through the GME Toolkit on-line program, all residents are provided with an anonymous Program Evaluation Form. They get a chance to rate their overall experience during the academic year. They also have a chance to express the support they were given by the staff, Program Director and Residency Coordinator.

BIANNUAL MEETINGS WITH THE PROGRAM DIRECTOR
Each resident in the program meets individually with the program director twice annually. In addition to reviewing performance evaluations, these meetings also provide each resident an opportunity to discuss professional and personal development and to obtain feedback regarding performance.