Plastic Surgery Section Education & Residency
Training
Indiana University School of Medicine offers an accredited two-year residency in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. We accept three residents each year. Minimum prerequisite training comprises three years of residency in General Surgery. Preference is given to candidates who will be Board eligible in Surgery prior to entering the Plastic Surgery Program. This is not an integrated program. Visas that permit graduate medial education training here at IU are: J-1 sponsored by ECFMG, J-2 accompanied with Employment Authorization Form I-688B.
The Plastic Surgery service is active in each of the four major hospitals in the Medical Center complex. These include Clarian University Hospital, Clarian Riley Hospital for Children, Wishard Memorial Hospital and the Veterans Administration Hospital. Residents gain experience at each of the component hospitals with approximately one half of the residency spent on the University Service which includes the University and Children's Hospitals. During the second or senior year, each resident spends at least four months as Administrative Chief Resident. Several electives are available, including time in the Plastic Surgery research laboratory, but such electives may result in spending more than two years in the residency. Plastic Surgery residents who begin their training with less than full training in General Surgery may be required to spend three years in the Plastic Surgery residency.
Close liaison is maintained with the departments of Anatomy and Pathology to allow correlation of the basic sciences with clinical studies. A short course in medical art and sculpture is given to the residents once every two years.
The daily census of the combined Plastic Surgery services is between 40 and 50 patients. There are approximately 150 elective operations performed on the combined Plastic Surgery services each month. Seventy-five percent of these operations are performed by the residents. The clinical load is varied. Children and young adolescents comprise approximately 25 percent of the patient admitted. The craniofacial cleft lip and palate clinic received 2024 patient visits in 2005. The Division of Plastic Surgery manages the Acute Burn Units at Wishard (Adult) and Riley (Children’s) Hospitals. The full gamut of Adult Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery is managed at the three adult hospitals with special interest in head and neck cancer, melanoma, hand surgery, and aesthetic surgery.
Promotion from the first to second year of Plastic Surgery residency is dependent on demonstration by the resident of acquisition of the appropriate skills in patient evaluation and care in the various aspects of Plastic Surgery particularly hand injuries, burn wound care, diagnosis and treatment of congenital anomalies especially cleft lip and palate, difficult wound care, anatomy of and reconstruction of the head and neck. Demonstration of mastery of or significant improvement in surgical technique is required and achievement of the goals specific for each rotation they have experienced. Consistent responsible behavior in preoperative and postoperative care combined with the ability to effectively deal with peers and ancillary health care personnel, as well as a high standard of personal honesty and integrity must be demonstrated. Although no absolute score for performance in the In-service Examination has been established as a criterion for promotion, a rank less than the thirtieth percentile of first year residents taking the test if combined with poor performance in other areas may be considered grounds for failure of advancement or dismissal.
Successful completion of the second year of residency depends on continued progress in the above mentioned areas as assessed by the Plastic Surgery faculty and demonstration of the ability to manage a team of residents and educate medical students. The graduating resident will not be certified as eligible to sit for the qualifying examination of the American Board of Plastic Surgery unless he/she ranks within or above the thirtieth percentile of second year residents in Plastic Surgery taking the In-service Examination.
Residency First Year
By the end of the first year the resident will be competent in:
- Communicating effectively with resident staff, faculty, nursing and others such that patients with emergent needs may be safely transferred from off campus or on campus to the environment appropriate to their specific need within the VAMC, Clarian and Wishard Systems.
- Obtaining consultation from appropriate services for elective cases of patients on campus.
- Utilizing the appropriate information systems on and off campus to provide excellent patient care and to facilitate his/her further education.
- Delivering a comprehensive one hour didactic conference on a selected topic.
- Evaluating his own educational progress through regular recording and review of cases performed and by meeting with faculty and the Program Director and communicating those needs to the faculty and the Program Director.
- Communicating with patients and families a treatment plan including appropriate informed consent for operation. Describing that treatment plan clearly to other physicians and recording it in textural and other forms.
- Leading a team consisting of plastic surgeons, general surgeons, nurses, PA’s, medical students and others to perform excellent patient care.
- Obtaining the knowledge and technical skills to perform procedures and solve patient care problems and perform operative procedures encountered in specific rotations.
- Performing microsurgical vascular anastomosis and neural repair on a laboratory animal.
Residency Second Year
By the end of the second year the resident will be competent in all of the previously noted skills and:
- Assessing aesthetic patients for their suitability for operation and choosing an appropriate operative or non-operative approach.
- Describing patient care actions in CPT language in an accurate and ethical fashion.
- Writing a medical paper (case report, chapter, etc) for possible publication.
- Accurately assessing the performance of first year residents, rotating residents from other services and medical students.
- Evaluating the accuracy, validity and usefulness of a publication or presentation on plastic surgery.
Interviews
The Division of Plastic Surgery at Indiana University School of Medicine conducts interviews at the University Place Hotel and Conference Center located on campus.
There is onsite parking located in the hotel garage. The hotel grants a special “Resident Rate” for applicants who stay at the hotel.
There are two interview sessions each year which are held on Saturday in either February, March or April. Applicants accepted for interview will be sent a letter of invitation in January which will include the two interview dates.
Interview Day Schedule
7:00 am - Registration
7:30 am - Welcome Applicants - Dr. John J. Coleman III, Program Director
7:45 am - Program overview and slide presentation by a member of the faculty
8:30 am - Interviews begin
12 noon - Lunch
4:00 pm - Conclusion of Interviews
5:00 pm - Social gathering for all applicants, faculty and residents
Several tours of the campus are conducted during the interview day to give everyone the opportunity to see the hospitals and campus facilities.
How To Apply
Only applications processed through the Plastic Surgery Central Application Service will be accepted. The deadline for applying through CAS is September 1st of each year. The deadline for applications sent to us from CAS is December 31st of each year. An application can be obtained by contacting:
Plastic Surgery Central Application Program
Maricopa County Medical Society
Contact: Brittany Oliver – CAS Coordinator
326 East Coronado Rd., Suite 103
Phoenix, AZ 85004
Email: boliver@azcvo.com
(602) 528-7722
(602) 256-2763
