Conferences
On Monday mornings from 7:00 - 8:00 a.m., we have an Indications Conference to discuss the scheduled surgical cases for the week. This provides an opportunity to fine tune the planning of the case as well as assignment of resident responsibilities. In addition it provides opportunities to review basic science aspects of our specialty.
On Wednesday mornings from 7:00 - 8:00 a.m., we hold Corequest, which is designed after the recommendations of the Association of Academic Chairmen of Plastic Surgery. We follow the structure of this program and allow each chief resident some flexibility in choosing topics. Faculty assigned to a topic prepare questions one week in advance. The resident then has a week to read broadly on the topic and to prepare responses to the questions. At the conference, the faculty quiz the residents on the specific questions. In this way a systematic review of basic science of our specialty is covered.
Life Long Learning is held on the first and third Wednesdays of each month. Each participant selects one article to discuss in some detail. The selected articles are circulated in advance of the conference, to all attending physicians and residents by email. LLL articles are critiqued using a "quality of evidence" and "usefulness in practice" approach. The first Wednesday is devoted to the reconstructive portion of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery (PRS) from the month prior and the third Wednesday will be devoted to the cosmetic portion of the PRS Journal from the month prior. Additional articles from alternate journals are generally discussed on the third Wednesday of the month. This conference focuses on developing the Medical Knowledge and Practice-based Learning and Improvement competencies.
On the second Wednesday of the month from 8:00 - 9:00 a.m., the section holds a meeting with all paramedical personnel. The purpose of this meeting is to review organizational and administrative aspects of the section and to work on quality improvement efforts. It is during these sessions that the resident is exposed to various aspects of practice management. The Section of Plastic Surgery is dedicated to continuously working on improving our delivery of patient health care. Each employee, faculty and resident is encouraged to define that area of practice that is most intrusive on their day to day activities. A team is then created to find a more efficient and or effective way to accomplish this task.
On a tri-annual basis, our section is invited to present interesting cases at the clinical conference of the Department of Surgery. The chief resident is frequently called on to prepare and present at this conference. The content of this regularly scheduled conference for all surgical subspecialties is monitored so that as topics of interest to our section arise, our residents are aware and can attend.
On an annual basis, we invite one or more Visiting Professors to our institution to spend a day with our residents to discuss patient management issues and general philosophy towards the practice of our specialty. In addition the Visiting Professor gives one or two lectures to the Department of Surgery and the Section of Plastic Surgery. Residents are released from clinical duties during visiting professorships.
The Plastic Surgery Educational Foundation In-training examination is administered annually.
Residents are expected to assume teaching responsibilities for junior residents assigned to the service. All surgical housestaff have a major responsibility to teach the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth students, who are periodically assigned to the plastic surgery service during the academic year.
All faculty perform formal semi-annual evaluations of the residents using E*Value, an electronic evaluation system used at DHMC. The program director then reviews these evaluations with the resident. The program director also monitors input from the paramedical personnel (nurses, therapists, secretaries, etc.) and patients on the residents' communication skills, and incorporates it into the formal evaluation session.
A microsurgical laboratory is available for acquiring basic technical skills under the microscope. The first-year resident has a formal microsurgery course early in the first year of training. This course includes development of microsurgical skills in an animal model.
