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Curriculum

SCHEDULE

We do not have a monthly/block schedule but rather longitudinal curriculum exposing residents to multiple specialty rotations day to day. Residents typically work 8 half-day clinics per week. A typical week could be comprised of several general dermatology clinics, a surgery clinic, pediatric dermatology clinic and one of our subspecialty clinics (link).

There is 1 administrative half-day scheduled per resident each week, and Friday morning all residents have an academic half-day for didactics.

Mohs surgery rotations are completed in week-long blocks divided throughout the year and exposure increases by year of training (2 weeks for 1st years; 3 weeks for 2nd years; 3 weeks for 3rd years).

Dermatopathology is taught during formal didactic sessions on Friday mornings. Residents also complete a 3 week dermatopathology block each year. The on-call resident participates in morning sign out during hospital weeks.

Residents start taking inpatient call the last 3 months of 1st year and call is divided into week-long segments during which there are no other clinical responsibilities.

Each resident has 4 weeks of elective time to pursue opportunities for enrichment during training, either within the university or at other institutions.

 

SPECIALTY CLINICS

    • Alopecia/Hair Disorders
    • Contact Dermatitis
    • Cosmetic Dermatology
    • Cutaneous Lymphoma
    • Department of Corrections (incarcerated patients)
    • Dermatological Surgery (non-Mohs)
    • Dermatopathology
    • General Adult Dermatology
    • Hidradenitis Suppurativa & Follicular Disorders
    • High Risk Skin Cancer
    • Immunodermatology/Autoimmune Blistering Disorders
    • Inpatient Consultative Service
    • Laser Services
    • Mohs Surgery
    • Pediatric Dermatology
    • Piedmont Health Services
    • Pigmented Lesion/Melanoma
    • Resident Continuity Clinics
    • Urgent Care/Hospital Follow Up Clinic
    • Vulvar Dermatology
    • Wound Clinic

 

RESIDENT CONTINUITY CLINIC AND URGENT CARE CLINICS

Resident continuity and urgent care clinics allow for graduated autonomy in patient care with faculty supervision.

Continuity Clinics

During the second year (PGY3) of training, residents will participate in continuity clinics located at our Hillsborough office. Each resident will oversee the medical and surgical needs of a panel of patients.

Faculty supervisors are Dr. Donna Culton, Dr. Michelle Pearlstein and Dr. Edith Bowers.

Urgent care/Hospital Follow-up Clinic

During the third year (PGY4) of training, residents will rotate through the Urgent Care/Hospital Follow-Up clinic. In this setting, upper level residents will evaluate urgent rashes and lesions of concern.  Residents will develop advanced clinical and procedural skills in the evaluation and treatment of dermatology conditions and learn how to triage patients with acute dermatologic complaints. This clinic will permit on-call residents to have continuity of care of patients between the inpatient and outpatient settings.

Faculty supervisors are Dr. Rachel Blasiak and Dr. Luis Diaz

 

DIDACTICS

Friday morning didactics

Structured didactic activities occur every Friday morning from 8:00a-12:00p.  Greater than 80% of the lectures are faculty-given, with residents leading approximately 20% of sessions.

Our conference room has been up-fitted to with audio-visual equipment to allow for high-definition projection of sessions through interactive Zoom platform for trainees working at one of our satellite clinics.

Components of our weekly academic sessions include:

  • Dermatopathology
    • Weekly formal review of structured topic (1hr)
  • Major topic lectures
    • Weekly lectures covering a wide range of core dermatology topics (1-2 hours weekly)
  • Kodachromes
    • Unknown cases are projected. Residents are asked to provide differential diagnoses and potential evaluation strategies. Reviewed weekly with faculty preceptor.
  • Surgical lectures
    • High yield procedural and cosmetic topics (Monthly)
  • Basic Science lectures
    • Review of high-yield topics in basic science and with emphasis on clinical relevance (Monthly)
  • Journal Club
    • Faculty member selects several articles for critical appraisal and review (Monthly-bimonthly)
  • Hideaway/Consultant’s Conference
    • In this conference, interesting patients with attendant teaching value are reviewed. Rotating faculty preceptors run the conference including oral examination of the residents’ knowledge base, evaluation strategy, and treatment plans (Monthly)

Other formal didactic sessions

  • Thursday 12-1 lunch conferences with rotating topics: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in dermatology, Boards Review, and QA/Patient Safety.

CONFERENCES

Local

  • UNC-Duke Conference
    Our department meets with the residents and faculty of Duke nearly every two weeks during nine months of each academic year (September through June) to present and discuss educational patient cases. Half of these patient-focused UNC/Duke conferences are hosted by UNC.  First year residents are expected to give formal presentations at the UNC meetings, with the advice and assistance of the faculty member who has participated in the evaluation and care of each patient.  Details of the format for these presentations are available from the Chief Residents and Program Directors.

Regional

 

  • SEC
    All of our first and second-year residents are encouraged to attend the annual Southeastern Consortium on Dermatology (SEC), a regionally based clinical meeting which rotates each year among the 10 participating academic dermatology programs.  https://secdermsmeeting.org/

National

  • AAD
    We encourage all residents to attend the annual American Academy of Dermatology meeting. One second-year resident will remain home to take call during this time. At the present time, all residents in U.S. dermatology training programs have some expenses (hotel and travel) paid to attend the annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology by an educational grant.

 

  • Other
    If clinic coverage scheduling is adequate, it may be possible to permit residents to attend other meetings within the continental United States, based on individual career needs or interests.
    We would be delighted to have our residents give presentations at other regional or national meetings, in adddition to the AAD annual meeting, if departmental resources allow. Interested residents should discuss this with the Program Director and/or Chair.