The program taps into a rich clinical environment. Residents have the opportunity to learn and practice dermatology in a variety of settings: The University of Chicago Medical Center's Duchossoise Center for Advanced Medicine (DCAM) and Wyler Children's Hospital & Friends Center as well as offsite offices affiliated with the Medical Center. In addition, senior residents have conducted elective rotations at a wide variety of institutions, both locally and out of state.

GENERAL SCHEDULE OF RESIDENTS’ ROTATIONS AND DUTIES

Specific Goals and Objectives for Each Year of Residency

1st Year

By the end of the first year of dermatology training, residents are expected to have attained a solid foundation of knowledge, skill, and comfort in the following areas:

• The basic tenets and requirements of professionalism and collegiality
• The clinical and scientific foundations of dermatology, through individual study and active participation in the core curriculum
• Fundamentals of dermatologic differential diagnosis, based on accurate observation and morphologic description of skin lesions
• Fundamentals of medical management of skin diseases, including understanding the pharmacologic mechanisms and indications for topical therapies and for systemic antibiotics, biologic therapies, corticosteroids, antihistamines, methotrexate, cyclosporine, and retinoids
• Basic diagnostic procedures, including Wood’s light examination, potassium hydroxide preparation of skin scrapings, trichogram, scabies preparation, and Tzanck smear
• Basic surgical procedures, including skin biopsy, cryotherapy, electrosurgery, and simple excisional surgical procedures
• Basic dermatopathologic reaction patterns and the importance of clinicopathologic correlation
• Identification of an area of interest for further exploration in depth during academic time, creative time, and/or elective time throughout the subsequent years of residency

2nd Year

By the end of the second year of dermatology training, residents should have refined and built significantly upon the knowledge base achieved in the first year. Specifically, they are expected to have attained a high level of knowledge, skill, and comfort in the following key areas:

• A refined understanding of professionalism and collegiality, gained through self-examination and feedback from faculty and peers
• An increasing skill base in procedural dermatology, including Mohs micrographic surgery, the design and practice of tissue transfer for closure of complex surgical wounds, principles and practice of laser surgery, and biopsy of difficult areas such as mucosae, ear, genitalia, and digits (including digital anesthesia and nail surgery)
• Management and treatment options of patients with complex and serious skin disease including cutaneous lymphoma and widespread psoriasis
• Principles and practice of phototherapy and photochemotherapy
• Principles and practice of wound care including use of occlusive dressings
• Comfort and skill in functioning as a consultant dermatologist on the inpatient service and emergency room
• Submission for publication of one or more papers or chapters on academic topic(s) of choice, under faculty guidance

3rd Year

By the end of the third year, residents should have attained all the general educational goals and objectives outlined above, and specifically should have demonstrated their accomplishment of the following:

• Internalization of the core values of professionalism and collegiality
• Expertise in dermatologic differential diagnosis, including techniques of taking histories and performing physical examinations, and application of other means to confirm diagnoses, e.g., specialized laboratory studies as required
• Expertise in all forms of dermatologic pharmacologic treatment including skill in prescribing systemic chemotherapeutic agents and immunosuppressive agents
• Expertise in procedural dermatology, including skill in advanced surgical techniques such as Mohs micrographic surgery, flaps, grafts, laser surgery, and cosmetic procedures, at a level appropriate for customary practice or as a qualification to initiate further subspecialty fellowship training if so desired
• Expertise in diagnostic dermatopathology, at a level appropriate for customary practice or as a qualification to initiate further subspecialty fellowship training if so desired
• Expertise in teaching dermatology to medical students and more junior house staff
• Completion of one or more academic projects for publication
• Submission for publication of one or more additional papers or chapters on academic topic(s) of choice, under faculty guidance

Research Training

The program has access to the University’s extensive network of laboratories and research facilities, for those residents interested in an investigatory focus to their training. Facilities and personnel for virtually any activity in applied or basic research are available. Selected residents may have the opportunity to perform dedicated blocks of research in their second and/or third years of training (PGY-3 and 4), during which they are responsible for planning, performing, and publishing important and original scholarly investigations on an approved topic of their choice. They also maintain limited clinical responsibilities, including regularly staffing their continuity clinics, during research blocks. Research blocks must receive approval from the American Board of Dermatology before commencement.