Candidates for residency must meet the prerequisite requirements of the American Board of Plastic Surgery. In addition, ambulatory surgery is done at two free standing outpatient surgery clinics. Plastic surgery residents participate in all aspects of patient care both in the hospital and in the outpatient facilities. Operative responsibilities are assigned on a progressive basis.
Residents manage most of the pre and postoperative care in consultation with the faculty.
In general, all of these areas are covered adequately during the time allotted. However, in individual cases experience may be augmented with rotations with private surgeons or in the affiliated facilities. The plastic surgery service is an integral part of both the medical student surgery rotation and the general surgery residency. The clinical demands of the training period are too intense to allow a separate rotation for research. However research is a required part of the program and each resident is expected to complete at least one paper each year suitable for presentation at a meeting and preferably suitable for publication as well.