Division of Dermatology | Training

Didactic Curriculum Highlights

Resident Boot Camp

In July and August, our first-year residents begin their dermatology training with a series of lectures aimed at building a strong foundation in medical dermatology and its subspecialties. This curriculum includes training in physical diagnosis and introductory lectures on general dermatology, microscopy, dermatopathology, dermoscopy, patch testing, and dermatologic surgery including practice lab sessions in our simulation center.

Dermoscopy

The dermoscopy curriculum includes monthly faculty-led didactic lectures and monthly reviews of clinical cases correlating clinical morphology, dermoscopy and histopathology. Each resident is issued a dermatoscope to use throughout residency.

Skin Cancer Conference

Residents present challenging cases at this multi-disciplinary monthly conference. Dermatology, pathology, surgical oncology, Hematology-Oncology and Radiation oncology collaborate and coordinate care for patients with complex, advanced or unusual cutaneous tumors.

Grand Rounds

Our faculty, trainees and community dermatologists attend Grand Rounds. We present and discuss complex patient cases with patient viewing. These sessions focus on clinical morphology, differential diagnosis, and management of interesting and challenging clinical cases. In addition, Harbor hosts a Grand Rounds Lecture featuring a prominent invited speaker.

Dermatopathology

The dermatopathology curriculum includes weekly faculty-led didactic sessions held at a multi-headed microscope coordinated with the current dermatology textbook reviews. Twice a month, residents review cases from their clinics with the dermatopathology attending. Monthly dermatopathology lectures are held at Kaiser, coordinating with a systematic text review.

Journal Club

Residents and faculty participate in journal club sessions, during which we review the latest clinical and basic science research articles and practice critically analyzing research studies. Residents select the articles they will be presenting. Faculty provide guidance in critical analysis of data presented.

Hospital Consultation Services Case Review

Following each inpatient consultation month, residents present their most interesting cases from the rotation to their peers. This provides an opportunity for all residents to learn from the most unique and challenging cases seen throughout the year

Surgery Curriculum

Residents have extensive hands-on training doing excisions, Mohs micrographic surgery, reconstructive surgery, including layered closures, flaps and grafts all three years of training. In addition, they gain experience using lasers and injectables in both the academic and private practice setting. This series of didactic lectures led by our surgical faculty is augmented by suture skills labs in our Simulation Center. Cadaver labs provide additional training in nail surgery and other specialized procedures.

Morbidity and Mortality Case Conference

Residents present cases of educational value for quality improvement. This conference provides a forum for the open discussion of various clinical and systems based aspects of patient care. Such discussion will provide resident physicians the opportunity to critically review various aspects of patient care, to be exposed to contemporary principles guiding medical decision-making, and insight into the processes of improving the quality of care. This conference is an essential component of the educational process necessary for the training of residents.

Basic Science Lecture Series

Lectures highlighting key topics relevant for understanding physiology and pathophysiology as well as treatment of skin disease are given monthly. Topics cover a range of topics including statistics, immunology, microbes, photobiology, tumor biology, and introduction to clinical and translational research.

Leadership and Research Training

A series of lectures for improving communication, as well as one-on-one mentorship and coaching for developing the future leaders of our specialty. During Boot camp there is an emphasis on lectures and role-playing to provide tools for improving communication with patients, staff, and colleagues. Topics such as mindfulness, validation, vulnerability, emotional regulation, distress tolerance, Gottman’s Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, verbal and nonverbal communication are included. There is also an ongoing emphasis on oral presentation skills at every level of training.

Clinical Curriculum Highlights

General Dermatology

Residents spend the majority of clinic time at Harbor-UCLA, where they see a great variety of advanced and unusual cases. Patients represent a diverse and often underserved population referred from throughout Los Angeles County. At Kaiser South Bay, the residents gain experience with “bread and butter” medical and surgical dermatology in continuity clinics, under the supervision of a wide variety of dermatologists.

Dermatologic Surgery

Supervised by our fellowship-trained Mohs surgery faculty, residents have extensive hands-on training doing excisions, Mohs micrographic surgery, reconstructive surgery– including layered closures, flaps and grafts all three years of training. In addition, they gain experience using lasers and injectables in both the academic and private practice settings.

Pediatric Dermatology

This 1 or 2-month yearly rotation takes place at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. At this site, residents are supervised by pediatric dermatology attendings in the care of patients in the ambulatory and inpatient consultative settings.

City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center

Residents rotate in the cutaneous T-cell lymphoma clinic and gain experience with clinical trials, graft-versus-host disease and the skin manifestations of cancer and cancer therapies.

Specialty Clinics at Harbor-UCLA

• Derm-Rheum Clinic: Faculty with expertise in complex medical dermatology along with a Rheumatologist help residents manage these patients.
• Psychiatry-Dermatology Clinic: A psychiatrist with experience with psychocutaneous disorders along with faculty with expertise in complex medical dermatology help residents manage these patients.
• Pigmented Lesion Clinic: Faculty with over 25 years of dermoscopy experience provide guidance and teaching in clinic. Residents use our FotoFinder Total Body mole mapping system to manage melanoma and dysplastic nevi patients.
• Hidradenitis Suppurativa Clinic: Our faculty with expertise in management of hidradenitis supervise surgical and medical therapy. De-roofing procedures are performed in clinic.
• Hair/scalp Clinic: Faculty with expertise in hair disorders and hair transplant staff this clinic. Surgical treatments for acne keloidalis are performed here.

Inpatient Consultative Service

As a 570 bed hospital with a robust emergency department, Harbor-UCLA exposes residents to a wide variety of acute and complex medical dermatology diagnoses. The division has strong ties to the medicine, surgery, ob-gyn, and pediatric teams, allowing for multidisciplinary care of patients in house. Our residents provide essential and valuable consultative expertise during their month-long rotations.

 

Training Facilities