Resident Rounds Part I. Program Spotlight: Ohio State University

diseases, and other dermatologic conditions requiring systemic immunosuppressant agents; often these patients are referred from other dermatologists.

In addition, psoriasis and pigmented lesions clinics provide high volume and expertise in management for common diseases that the general dermatologist encounters.

At NCH, Drs. Patricia Witman, Esteban Fernandez Faith, and Joy Mosser run multiple general pediatric clinics. Drs. Witman and Fernandez Faith also run a multidisciplinary hemangioma and vascular malformation clinic.

Residents spend 2 half days weekly at the Chalmers P. Wylie Ambulatory Care VA Center, and the remainder of the time is spent in elective clinics.

Cosmetic dermatology is intentionally underrepresented in the program, but if desired, residents can use elective time for laser and cosmetic clinic opportunities with Drs. Massick, Plotner, and Fichtel.

Mohs surgery clinics are precepted by Drs. David Carr and David Lambert at OSU, with additional opportunities available at the VA. There are required surgery clinics but also extensive elective opportunities if residents choose to spend additional time practicing surgical technique. The residents also spend time at the Corrections Medical Center, which services prisoners from across the state; performing surgery for skin cancers in a resource-poor setting. The residents have the opportunity to be aggressive with skin cancer excisions on the face and elsewhere that normally would be treated with Moh’s micrographic surgery in a different setting.

Because the program takes place at multiple sites throughout Columbus, didactics take place once weekly when residents are excused from all obligations. During this time, there is typically a book review, a faculty lecture/kodachrome session, an outside speaker/journal club, and an hour of dermatopathology. Friday mornings have an additional 1-2 hour dermatopathology session.

Resident autonomy is generally progressive throughout the program. From the initiation of the residency, an emphasis is placed on autonomy in the continuity clinic with an equilibrium achieved for the appropriate level of supervision for the resident's individual level of competency, a luxury afforded given the small size of the program. The VA clinics particularly emphasize autonomy given that residents are permitted to see patients they feel comfortable with without staffing with the attending physician. Specialty clinics offer increasing levels of autonomy dependent on the physician and the ability of the resident. Resident surgery clinics, VA, and Corrections clinics all give the resident opportunities to do full surgeries after the first 6 months. Mohs clinics allow increasing autonomy depending on interest and ability.

Research can be conducted during administrative time that is chosen by the residents during the monthly lottery selection process. In addition, senior residents may conduct more in-depth research after discussion of their project interests with a primary mentor and the program director.

About half of residents do fellowships including pediatric, procedural, and dermatopathology. Our program offers one pediatric fellowship per year and two positions in dermatopathology.

In conclusion, Ohio State offers a small program within a large academic medical center, a high faculty-to-resident ratio, great pathology, and an innovative scheduling system that is residentoriented to allow for early niche and specialty development among many specialty medicine and surgery clinics.

None of the authors have declared any relevant conflicts.