Washington Hospital Center is the largest private hospital in the nation's capital. A member of MedStar Health, the not-for-profit Hospital Center is licensed for 926 beds and, on average, operates at near capacity. Health services in primary, secondary and tertiary care are offered to adult and neonatal patients. Founded in March 1958 when three specialty hospitals merged into one, the Hospital Center occupies a 47-acre campus in Northwest Washington it shares with three other medical facilities. In fiscal year 2006, 46,155 inpatients were served --including 4,409 births-- and 366,248 outpatients. The Hospital Center has a medical/dental staff of 1,584.

Dermatology Residency Program

Washington Hospital Center's Dermatology Residency Program is a three-year program providing trainees with the education and clinical experience needed to become skilled and knowledgeable dermatologists. Fully accredited by the ACGME and the Residency Review Committee of the American Board of Dermatology, the program's comprehensive curriculum, dedicated teaching faculty, and urban clinical setting create a dynamic and rewarding training experience.

As a well-reputed facility in the nation's capital, the Hospital Center serves a diverse patient population, affording residents the opportunity to examine, diagnose, and treat a wide range of dermatologic conditions. Under the guidance and instruction of expert faculty, residents acquire a solid foundation in the practice of dermatology with opportunities for subspecialty experience.

The Department of Dermatology offers residents unique learning opportunities through its leadership in the field. The Department of Dermatology, in collaboration with the Washington Cancer Institute at Washington Hospital Center, has established the Melanoma Center, the only interdisciplinary group dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of melanoma in the Washington area. Dermatologists at the Melanoma Center perform pigmented lesion screening using epiluminescence microscopy and use computerized mole-mapping photography to follow patients with more than 100 nevi. The department, chosen as one of the original psoralen ultraviolet type-A (PUVA) centers in 1975, also maintains an active phototherapy program for psoriasis, mycosis fungoides, and other skin diseases. It has an extracorporeal photopheresis unit for the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, scleroderma, and organ-rejection transplantation.

Curriculum

The Dermatology Residency Program combines a broad clinical curriculum, an extensive didactic curriculum, and resident involvement in research to achieve a comprehensive training experience.

Residents routinely manage an average of 2 inpatients and 100-150 outpatients each week. The program includes daily hospital rounds, private clinic rotations, shifts in the Ambulatory Care Center, conferences, and clinical research. They receive extensive instruction and clinical experience in the areas of allergic contact dermatitis; photo contact dermatitis, including immunologically based photosensitive diseases; and mycology and microbiology as needed to identify the dermatophytes commonly seen in dermatologic practice. Residents also have the opportunity to attend a number of subspecialty clinics: photodermatoses, pediatrics, occupational dermatoses, photoaging, and hair and scalp disease.

Technical training includes the use of technologies such as photopheresis, phototherapy, dermatoscopy, digital mole mapping, and lasers. Proficiency in procedures such as biopsies, excisions, Mohs surgery, flaps and grafts, laser surgery, tissue augmentation, sclerotherapy, nail surgery and rhinophyma is emphasized. The program is structured to provide instruction and progressively independent experience to fulfill the American Board of Dermatology's required performance of specialized surgical procedures in dermatology.

Conferences

Educational activities include textbook review, journal club/basic science lectures, and grand rounds. In addition, residents attend a bimonthly dermatopathology lecture given by the department's dermatopathologist alternating with a bimonthly Kodachrome conference presented by one of the department's attending physicians.

Textbook Review - Meets once a week to increase the resident's medical knowledge of dermatologic conditions and diseases.

Basic Science Lectures - Meets two to three times a month to further the resident's basic science knowledge.

Journal Club - Meets two to three times a month to teach the resident the scientific process of clinical investigation and analysis.

Grand Rounds - Meets two to three times a month to improve the resident's recognition of common diseases, rare and exotic diseases, disease processes, and various alternatives to treatment of diseases.

Kodachrome Conference - Meets twice a month to increase the resident's ability to recognize skin disease by means other than clinical examination.

Research

The department maintains a strong focus on research. Residents are encouraged to participate in clinical research during their residency program. To accommodate this requirement, first-year residents have the opportunity to participate in six one-month rotations in clinical research. Faculty members are available to guide and assist in research activities. The Office of Graduate Medical Education offers funding to support the presentation of research at conferences or meetings.

Recent department research projects include studies on the use of Benzamycin for acne vulgaris, the efficacy of Azelaic Acid for facial rosacea, intramuscular administration of LFA3TIP for chronic plaque psoriasis, the efficacy of topically applied Tacrolimus ointment for atopic dermatitis, the efficacy of Finasteride on men with androgenetic alopecia, and the efficacy of Norgestimate on acne vulgaris.


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This information is reposted with thanks to Washington Hospital Center.