Curriculum

Our program offers a comprehensive clinical and didactic curriculum along with a wide range of elective opportunities. We provide training in general and complex adult and pediatric skin disease, dermatologic surgery, procedural and cosmetic dermatology, and dermatopathology. We are proud to offer subspecialty clinics with world experts and beloved faculty mentors in many areas including rheumatology-dermatology, laser medicine, oncodermatology, vascular anomalies, leprosy and other infectious diseases, and teledermatology. We provide formal didactic curriculum with daily sessions that complement our clinical curriculum and address important themes including cultural awareness and health policy and advocacy. Lastly, we offer a tremendous breadth of research opportunities, both in the basic science laboratories and clinical/translational research, as well as community health outreach opportunities across our institutions and the Greater Boston neighborhoods.

Below is a general overview of our clinical and didactic curriculum within each major area of dermatology:

General Dermatology

We have over 100 dermatology-trained teaching faculty members across our 6 affiliated institutions. In addition to their subspecialty areas of interest, our teaching faculty also provide dermatologic care to a general patient population. Throughout residency, our residents rotate through clinics that provide comprehensive training in the diagnosis and management of common skin conditions.

Pediatric Dermatology

We have board-certified pediatric dermatologists on staff across our affiliated hospitals. Our pediatric dermatologists have expertise in vascular anomalies, melanoma, homeless medicine, supportive oncodermatology, and contact dermatitis. All residents complete a two month rotation in pediatric dermatology at Boston Children's Hospital during their PGY-3 or PGY-4 year. In addition, PGY-2 residents participate in one pediatric dermatology clinic per week on general dermatology rotations. Pediatric dermatology didactic curriculum is composed of an introductory lecture for first years, kodachrome sessions, and vascular anomalies and other subspecialty-focused lectures.

Dermatologic Surgery

We have Mohs surgeons on staff across our affiliated adult hospitals. Excisions clinics are incorporated into several general and advanced dermatology rotations. Our residents also complete a 2-month dermatologic surgery rotation during their PGY-3 or PGY-4 year of residency. We offer several hands-on procedural training sessions as part of our didactic curriculum, which are facilitated by our procedural teaching faculty. We also provide a series of basic and advanced dermatologic surgery based lectures.

Dermatopathology

We have dermatopathologists on staff across our affiliated hospitals. Residents complete two 1-month dermatopathology rotations during their residency. Dermatopathology slide review of consult cases is held weekly at Boston Children’s Hospital. Our residents also have two dermatopathology didactic sessions per week, which includes one topic-based lecture and one unknown slide-based teaching session to review the entities discussed that week during the dermatopathology lecture.

Laser and Cosmetic Dermatology

We have faculty experts and innovators in laser medicine across our affiliated sites, and we are proud to have the internationally renowned Wellman Center of Photomedicine available to our residents. Our residents rotate through laser and cosmetic dermatology clinics throughout residency. In addition, we have a monthly resident-run and faculty-supervised cosmetic clinic that allows residents hands-on experience in using injectables. We also offer basic and advanced lectures on laser and cosmetic dermatology.

Continuity Clinics

Residents have two continuity clinics per week over the course of residency. During PGY-2 year, residents have one medical or pediatric dermatology clinic and one first-year surgical continuity clinic per week where they learn to perform excisions. PGY-3 and PGY-4 residents have the opportunity to continue their medical or pediatric dermatology clinic and to add an additional clinic in medical dermatology (general or subspecialty), pediatric dermatology, surgical dermatology, laser/cosmetic dermatology, or dermatopathology. These clinics provide the opportunity to follow patients over time and develop longitudinal relationships with our faculty.