Plastic Surgery Residency Curriculum

Since July 2023, the Plastic Surgery Curriculum is a six year (72 month) integrated plastic surgery residency curriculum. Our first residents from this program will graduate in June 2028. We are accredited without outcomes by the ACGME. Prior, we had a long history of an independent plastic surgery residency which has been continuously fully accredited since its inception in 1974. Our last graduating class will be in 2027.

Our curriculum is designed to support the resident in their development along all of the ACGME Core Competencies using the Plastic Surgery Milestones as a guide. The curriculum increases in its content and complexity as the medical school graduate matures into a surgeon capable of autonomous practice of plastic surgery. As themes, the year progress as follows.

The resident will identify self as:

• PGY 1:             physician
• PGY 2 – 3:         surgeon and medical educator
• PGY 4 -5:          plastic surgeon and surgical educator
• PGY 6:             surgical leader and supervised autonomous practitioner

• The clinical program is dynamic and growing within defined pillars of experience – “Surgery in General”, “Plastic Surgery Adjacent” and “Plastic Surgery”. In the junior years (PGY 1-3), 15 months is devoted to “Surgery in General.” These rotations are curated to provide increasing responsibility in the care of acutely ill patients and to provide experiences that will augment the practice of plastic surgery. Six months is devoted to plastic surgery adjacent fields –  fields that overlap or frequently collaborate with plastic surgery. The remainder of the time is on the Plastic Surgery services. The senior years (PGY 4-6) are spent exclusively on plastic surgery rotations. Our curriculum is an operatively heavy program with case log totals for graduating residents consistently around the 75^th percentile.

Senior Resident Curriculum

• Education Days are held monthly include a comprehensive review of topics over an 18 month cycle. Format includes resident directed topic reviews, faculty directed clinical case studies, and hands on technical training.
• Six times per year, this block has time set aside for practice based improvement by reviewing case logs, self directed learning plans and formal performance reviews.
• Six times per year, this block has time set aside for systems based practice development with discussions lead by subject matter experts areas of patient safety, risk management, billing and coding, and corporate compliance.

Conferences are held weekly covering the plastic surgery curriculum topics twice over three-year cycles. Primary conferences are held Monday evenings and Wednesday mornings. Saturday morning hands on / simulation sessions occur 5-6 times per year.

Wednesday Morning Series: Entire Division

• Grand Rounds: Residents, Faculty, local, regional and National Plastic Surgeons present timely topics in Plastic Surgery.
• Journal Club: Held 6 times yearly, residents present the most important articles from the past two months in the White Journal, the Aesthetic Journal, the Hand Journal, and the Craniofacial Journal.
• Peer Review and Quality Improvement (M&M): Held 6 times yearly, faculty and residents review cases to find ways to improve performance.

Junior Resident Curriculum Conference

• Held weekly, questions and readings from CoreQuest and Plastic Surgery Texts are reviewed in a 2-hour seminar format centering on the basic science, diagnosis, and office management of plastic surgery.
• Group projects such as QI projects are done at this time.
• Simulations sessions for robotics and other skills twice per quarter.

Senior Resident Curriculum Conference

• Weekly Thursday evening seminars lead by faculty in case-based format on plastic surgery operative management
• Six times per year, this block is used to review case logs, professional development topics and formal feedback sessions

Visiting Professors

• We have two endowed visiting professorships to bring in national and international faculty for a 2-day visit that includes hands on training, small conversations, case presentations and formal lectures.  A division dinner is a social highlight of these visits.

Regional and National Societies

• Illinois Society of Plastic Surgeons: Residents may join the Chicago Medical Society (for free) to become members of ISPS. Residents may attend the evening visiting professor dinners which occur 4-6 times per year at local venues.
• Midwestern Association of Plastic Surgeons: MAPS meets annually in the spring at varied venues for a 2-day meeting of regional and national speakers and residency research paper competitions in basic and clinical research. Programs from Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Missouri participate. Abstract submission is expected in years 3 through 6.
• American Society of Plastic Surgeons – resident membership is paid for by the Division to provide access to the ASPS Education Network and other benefits. Division provides support to attend the Senior Resident conference in the final year of program.
• American Society of Maxillofacial Surgeons – Division provides registration for the ASMS Basic Course on years when held in Chicago.
• Program Director will provide letters of recommendations necessary for residents to join other societies.
  • American Cleft Palate Craniofacial Association
  • American College of Surgeons
  • American Council of Academic Plastic Surgeons
  • American Society of Surgery for the Hand
  • The Aesthetic Society