Duties and Reponsibilites

Introduction

The University of North Carolina Hospitals plastic surgery residency program is a two-year program. All residents will have completed the minimum prerequisite training in general surgery or another surgical specialty before beginning this residency program. The two years will consist of 18 months at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and six months at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The six months at Charlotte will be divided into two separate three month rotations, one during the second six months of the first year of the residency program, and the other during the first six months of the second year of the residency program.

Duties and Responsibilities at UNC Hospitals

At any given time, there will be three plastic surgery residents at UNC Hospitals. When the group consists of one second year resident and two first year residents, the second year resident will be the “administrative chief resident.” The administrative chief resident is responsible for assignment of clinical responsibilities, both in and outside of the operating room, and the administrative organization of the teaching conferences. When there are two second year residents simultaneously at Chapel Hill, which will occur during the last six months of the program, they should divide the administrative responsibilities into two three months blocks, mutually agreed upon. 

The plastic surgery residents are responsible for the direct supervision and teaching of PGY1 residents who are on the service as well as medical students on the service.

The three plastic surgery residents will split responsibility for taking call for the plastic surgery service, to be divided equally, with the organization of the call schedule being the responsibility of the administrative chief resident. The call schedule for each month should be given to Sharon Sullivan no later than the 15th day of the previous month.

The administrative chief resident should supervise the distribution of patients by the medical students. In general, each student should follow patients on whose surgery they have scrubbed. Students should write progress notes each day on their own patients, but these should be supervised by the PGY1 resident as well as by the plastic surgery residents.

Questions or problems should be communicated directly to the administrative chief resident, but all residents should not hesitate to directly communicate any questions or problems to the appropriate attending, or ultimately to the division chief.

The on call resident should see consults both in the hospital as well as in the Emergency Department. When the on call resident is unable to see a consult, particularly in the Emergency Department, in a timely fashion, particularly because of responsibilities in the operating room, any of the other plastic surgery residents should cover for them.

Weekly Conference Schedule

The Plastic Surgery residents are responsible for attending the following Conferences.

1. Plastic Surgery: Selected Readings, Mondays, 6:30 AM, locations vary.
2. Surgery Grand Rounds: Wednesdays, 7:15 AM, Clinic Auditorium
3. Plastic Surgery: Pre-Op, Post-Op, and Morbidity/Mortality, Plastic Surgery Grand Rounds, and Case Conference:   Fridays, 6:30 AM, 7th Floor Burnett-Womack Conference Room
   
4. Monthly Journal Club, times and locations vary

Duties and Responsibilities of the Plastic Surgery Resident at Carolinas Medical Center

1. The plastic surgery resident is directly responsible for daily care of all plastic surgery inpatients at Carolinas Medical Center, including morning rounds Monday through Friday, as well as weekend’s on-call.  The resident will be assisted by the plastic surgery physician’s assistant on morning rounds and with inpatient care.
2. The plastic surgery resident is responsible for all plastic surgery consults at Carolinas Medical Center Monday through Friday 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM and during nights and weekends on-call. That includes direct involvement in the acute care and operative treatment of all facial trauma consults at Carolinas Medical Center. 
3. The plastic surgery resident will scrub on all elective plastic surgical cases at Carolinas Medical Center, except for Tuesdays and Fridays 8:00 AM to 12 Noon, when the resident will see outpatients and scrub on office procedures (mainly aesthetic) with the attendings at Charlotte Plastic Surgery
4. The resident will attend conference every Monday and Thursday, 7:00 to 8:00 AM, to discuss plastic surgery inpatients and review treatment plans and operative intervention with the Charlotte Plastic Surgery attendings. On Thursday mornings, the resident will also be expected to make a 30-minute presentation on a plastic surgery topic.

Policy Regarding Vacations, Meetings, and Time Away

1. All residents will have up to three weeks of time away from the institution each year. This time will include vacation, but also includes time spent away for interviews and meetings, with the exception of meetings, pre-approved by Dr. Hultman, at which the resident presents a paper.
2. Vacations will run from Monday to Sunday. It should not be assumed that the weekend prior to a scheduled vacation will be given off, but it is certainly reasonable for the residents to arrange the call schedule such that this will be the case whenever possible.
3. Residents are encouraged to attend meetings as part of their annual time away. The department will try to provide financial support for residents who wish to attend approved meetings or courses. Such approval must be in advance by Dr. Hultman. (See item 7 below)
4. For approved meetings at which papers are presented, the division will pay all reasonable expenses.
5. Vacation requests should be processed through Sharon Sullivan at least 14 days prior to the planned vacation. Except in very unusual circumstances, vacations may not be taken in the months of June or July. 
6. Except for the annual senior residents’ conference, no more than one resident at Chapel Hill may take vacation at the same time.
7. The expenses for attendance at the senior residents’ conference will be covered by the division. Other than that, except for meetings at which a resident has prior approval to present a paper, each resident is allowed $1500 per year as a budget for books, dues, professional subscriptions, and/or attendance of courses or meetings. Appropriate receipts are necessary for  reimbursement from that allowance.

Duty Hours 

Elective duty hours are expected to average no more than 14 hours per day, Monday through Friday. Only the on call resident is expected to make rounds on Saturday and Sunday. On call time periods will average one out of three nights and one out of three weekend days. There may be transient exceptions to this when another resident is not available because of vacation, meeting, courses, travel, or illness.