The teaching conferences held in the Division of Plastic Surgery are designed to provide comprehensive instruction in all areas of the specialty while maintaining a balance between didactic instruction and resident participation. From the start of their first year, the integrated residents in Plastic Surgery participate in divisional activities, including didactic and management conferences, as well as our monthly Journal Club. Attendance by the integrated residents is facilitated and agreed to by the Chief of General Surgery.
Wednesday
Morning Conference
This 90 minute weekly conference rotates between several formats, including monthly morbidity and mortality conference, pre-operative conference, unknown cases, resident “topic of interest” presentations and the quarterly research conference.
M & M Conference - (Monthly)
In this session, the morbidity and mortality of patients is discussed for analysis of treatment plans. In this manner, the Division can review problematic cases.
Pre-operative Conference - (Monthly)
This is a structured interactive conference that consists of a previously assigned case for discussion between residents and a specific faculty member. A case is selected from the next week's operating room schedule and assigned to the resident in advance. Using the Socratic Method, the designated faculty member questions the resident about pathophysiology, analysis of past and present problems, and the reconstructive plan. A hierarchy of cases is selected based on difficulty and sophistication, and assigned to the varying levels of the integrated residents in the program.
Unknown Case Conference - (Monthly)
In this session residents are presented with a case they have not seen previously and are asked to work through the diagnosis of treatment, as well as the management of complications.
Quarterly Research Conference- (Monthly)
Residents present a short formal summary of the progress made in their ongoing research projects and faculty and other residents provide constructive criticism and guidance for overcoming obstacles.
Thursday
Hand Service Conference
The multidisciplinary hand conference is held weekly and covers all key topics in hand surgery, including the management of traumatic, inflammatory, and congenital conditions. Presentations are given and discussions are led by attendings and residents from plastic surgery and orthopedic surgery or guest lecturers.
Core Topics
In this weekly conference, reading material chosen by the chief resident is discussed at length. This can be on a wide variety of topics in plastic surgery. A discussion is held of selected CME articles from recent years of the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Journal, as well as the Corequest Core Curriculum provided by the Plastic Surgery Education Foundation.
Plastic Surgery Journal Conference
On The first Thursday of the month, Journal Club is hosted by community and University Plastic Surgeons. The latest issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery is discussed. Reading/discussion assignments and location of the meeting is made by the host for the month.