Teaching Conferences
The Stanford Department of Dermatology places an extremely high value on resident education. The general weekly teaching schedule includes:
| Tuesday | General Didactic Schedule Monthly Journal Clubs |
| Thursday | Grand Rounds/Clinicopathologic Conference (CPC) Visiting Professor Lectureship |
The entire Tuesday morning is devoted to didactic lectures. Lectures are coordinated into "units" so that residents study the basic science, clinical, and dermatopathological aspects of diseases together. The didactic sessions are led by the department’s clinical and basic science faculty, by the program’s residents and by prominent local and national dermatologists.
In addition, to make sure that the residents are kept up to date on the most recent advancements in basic science, a monthly journal club meeting focusing on research topics affecting the field of dermatology is presented. The Journal Club is designed to keep the resident abreast of current knowledge by making use of dermatologic and non-dermatologic journals. Reviews of current literature develop the residents' abilities to analyze, summarize, and be critical of the vast amount of information now available in dermatology. Journal Club meets once a month for dinner and discussion at a faculty member's home and monthly as part of the morning lecture curriculum for discussion of selected basic science journals and non-dermatology literature.
Sumaira Aasi, MD., director of Mohs micrographic surgery and cutaneous laser surgery, has developed a core curriculum consisting of monthly lectures throughout the year. Didactic lectures emphasize the fundamentals of surgical instrumentation and materials, electrosurgery, cryosurgery and the use of tissue flaps and grafts during surgical reconstruction. The theory and usage of lasers within dermatology are also covered in great detail.
Dermatology Grand Rounds represent a major forum for discussion of both common and clinically challenging dermatologic problems by the resident staff and clinical faculty. Adult and pediatric dermatology cases are presented so that the views of all medical specialists may be obtained. The histology in these cases is also presented by the dermatopathologic faculty to provide clinicopathologic correlation. In addition to Grand Rounds, renowned visiting professors are often brought in to lecture on various topics.
Residents are encouraged to attend the quarterly meetings of the San Francisco Dermatological Society. These meetings are attended by community dermatologists from the San Francisco Bay Area and are held at Stanford and UCSF with input from faculty and residents. They provide a wealth of clinical knowledge to those in training and are usually accompanied by a visiting lectureship or directed symposium. Second and third year residents attend the annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology and are encouraged to present cases and research experience at this and other national meetings.
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