Educational Curriculum for Dermatology Residents

Educational Opportunities as part of Dermatology Residency Program

Didactics: Residents participate in 2 half-days per week of didactics time, with 50 percent of didactics given by faculty. In addition to general dermatology topics, other topics covered in didactics sessions include dermatopathology, dermatologic surgery and basic science topics. Subspecialty textbooks are also incorporated into the core curriculum, covering topics such as pediatric dermatology, genodermatoses and pharmacology. Bi-monthly journal clubs give the residents the opportunity to discuss and critically analyze new research studies. Residents pursuing the Osteopathic Track also attend osteopathic didactics and Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM) sessions monthly.

Self-Study: In addition to didactics time, residents have study time built into their schedule with typically one half-day of dedicated academic time per week except during inpatient consultation rotations.

Away Rotations: Residents are allowed to request to spend time rotating at outside institutions to gain further exposure in an area of their interest.

Grand Rounds: City-wide dermatology grand rounds are held every Thursday morning, with participation by all dermatology residency programs in Cleveland. The conference is held twice per month at UH Cleveland Medical Center, once per month at MetroHealth Medical Center and once per month at the Cleveland Clinic. Grand rounds are currently being conducted virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic. When possible, they involve live patient viewing followed by in-person case discussion.

Visiting Professor Program: Dermatologists and cutaneous biologists from outside institutions periodically give talks at grand rounds through the Visiting Professor Program.

Regional Conference Meetings: The Cleveland Dermatological Society holds meetings four times per year. These meetings are attended by approximately 200 community dermatologists along with faculty and residents from the academic teaching hospitals in Cleveland. Meetings include live patient viewing and presentations followed by discussions, which may be led by residents, faculty members or community dermatologists. Guest speakers also provide presentations. The fall meeting is hosted by UH Cleveland Medical Center, with residents writing abstracts, presenting posters and/or giving oral presentations.

Conference Attendance: Each resident has days allocated for conference attendance, such as those hosted by the American Academy of Dermatology, the American Osteopathic College of Dermatology, the Society for Investigative Dermatology, the Ohio Dermatological Association and others.

Resident Wellness: Wellness activities are held multiple times throughout the year with support from the department. To learn more about our residents’ experiences in the department, please follow us on Instagram @UHderm.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: The University Hospitals Department of Dermatology remains committed to the promotion of diversity, equity, and inclusion.  We are proud to serve our diverse patient population and support the American Academy of Dermatology’s vision for increasing representation of underrepresented individuals within our workforce.  We believe that working to recognize and understand our differences, whether they be racial/ethnic, socioeconomic, LGBTQ+, or in other realms is important, and we are constantly working toward improvement in this regard.

To meet these goals, we have a number of initiatives ongoing within the department, and these include:

• A Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee consisting of faculty, residents, and medical students who meet quarterly to formulate and review departmental initiatives
• Invited keynote speakers for our Diversity Grand Rounds Series
• A Grant-funded Skin of Color Fellowship

Learn more about the AAD Diversity initiatives.