Duties and Reponsibilities

Introduction

The University of North Carolina Hospitals plastic surgery residency program is a three-year program with two residents in each year. All residents will have completed the minimum prerequisite training in general surgery or another surgical specialty as stipulated by the American Board of Plastic Surgery before beginning this residency program. The three years will consist of duties and responsibilities at UNC Hospitals and includes rotations in Dermatology, Oral/Maxillofacial Surgery, Orthopedics, Oculoplastics, Burn, and Anesthesia.

At any given time, there will be five plastic surgery residents at UNC Hospitals. The sixth resident will be in Charlotte for a rotation in aesthetic surgery or office-based anesthesia.  There will always be a 3^rd year resident at UNC Hospitals acting as 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. These responsibilities will be shared between the two 3^rd year residents.

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 5 plastic surgery residents will share responsibility for taking call for the plastic surgery service during the week, with the organization of the call schedule being the responsibility of the administrative chief resident. Weekend call will be divided equally among the 5 residents at UNC Hospitals and the resident in Charlotte if applicable. The call schedule for each month should be given to the Program Director 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 in a timely fashion, particularly because of responsibilities in the operating room, another plastic surgery resident should cover for them.

Weekly Conference Schedule

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

1. Hand Conference: Mondays at 4:00 pm, Burnett-Womack 4th-floor Conference Room 4050

2. Selected Readings: Mondays at 5:00 PM, Burnett-Womack 4th-floor Conference Room 4050

3. Plastic Surgery Conferences: Indications, Morbidity & Mortality, and Journal Club, rotating Wednesdays at 6:30 AM, Burnett-Womack 4th-floor Conference Room 4050.

4. Plastic Surgery Grand Rounds, fourth Wednesday at 6:15 AM pm, Burnett-Womack 4th-floor Conference Room 4050.

Policy Regarding Vacations, Meetings, and Time Away

1. All residents will have up to three weeks of time away from the institution each year for vacation. Attendance at meetings, pre-approved by the program director, will not apply toward this vacation time.  Time away for job and/or fellowship interviews should not count toward vacation; however, such requests are handled on an individual basis. Time away on mission trips will count towards vacation.
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 educational meetings. If a resident is presenting at the meeting, it will not apply toward vacation and the division will provide financial support. Such approval must be obtained in advance through the Program Director.  If a resident is not presenting, time away may count toward vacation and financial support may be the responsibility of the resident.  These requests will be handled individually.
4. Vacation requests should be processed through the Program Director 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.
5. No more than one resident at UNC Hospitals may take vacation at the same time.
6. Except for meetings at which a resident has prior approval to present a paper, each resident is allowed $2000 per year as a budget for books, dues, professional subscriptions, and/or attendance at courses or meetings. Appropriate receipts are necessary for reimbursement from that allowance.

Duty Hours

Elective duty hours are expected to average no more than 10 per day, Monday through Friday. Only the on-call resident is expected to make rounds on Saturday and Sunday. Call will average 1 in every 5 nights during the week and 1 in every 6 weekends. There may be transient exceptions to this when another resident is not available because of vacation, meetings, courses, travel, or illness.