Department of Dermatology

Core Education

The core education is the didactic portion of the resident's learning experience and meets all the requirements set forth by the American Board of Dermatology.

The didactic experience includes several regularly scheduled lectures and conferences. As one part of this didactic experience, the program has designated every Wednesday morning as academic protected time. Residents are free from all clinic and administrative duties during this 4- to 5-hour session. The didactic lecture series integrates clinical dermatology, basic science, pharmacy and therapeutics, surgery, dermatopathology, and the ACGME core competencies. Additional dermatopathology conferences are held Friday at UPMC Presby/Medical Arts Building and the VAMC (resident time is protected from patient care and administrative responsibilities). The residents, on consultation with the program director, select the textbooks from which the didactic curriculum outline is developed annually. Both faculty and residents participate in the development and delivery of didactic sessions. An outline of the core didactic curriculum will be forwarded to all residents at the beginning of the academic year.

Supplementing these didactic sessions is the University of Pittsburgh Department of Dermatology and Pittsburgh Academy of Dermatology Grand Rounds and Lecture Series. In addition to patient discussions and formal lectures provided through this medium, nationally recognized dermatology experts are invited as guest lecturers several times a year. In addition, residents may attend the Annual Indiana University Deptartment of Dermatology Basic Science Course, West Virginia University Dermatology Grand Rounds, Pennsylvania Academy of Dermatology, Annual American Academy of Dermatology Meeting, or Society for Investigational Dermatology.