Overview

Educational Philosophy

It is essential for plastic surgeons to master their discipline and maintain that mastery throughout their practice.

At UC Irvine's Department of Plastic Surgery, we have an effective, systematic process for mastering the content of the discipline, including the formal academic elements of conference rounds, literature use, courses and symposia. More important, we emphasize the interaction our students have with faculty members in problem analysis and surgical care of individual patients.

Our faculty members encourage students to use analytic logic and the scientific method when approaching patient problems. Residents complete this process first, with critique by faculty members to follow.  Judgment and analytic skills grow more rapidly using this approach, and residents are better prepared to make the transition into independent practice. Technical growth is approached in the same manner.

Educational Approach

Unlike programs that focus only on endpoints of surgical training in knowledge or technique, our goal of our six-year residency program is to teach the principles and techniques of scholarship that allow residents to continue to define, test and use optimal practices at any point throughout their careers. Achieving these goals requires considerable interaction between the attending physicians and the residents.

Our faculty members constantly encourage and require each resident to engage in analytic thinking in surgical problem-solving, to apply the scientific method of data analysis and to use a sound physiologic basis for surgical practice. Our approach requires substantial input of basic science knowledge and research skills, much of which is derived from our own basic science laboratory and seminars.

Our educational approach is one of graduated responsibility based on progressive acquisition of knowledge, exercise of judgment and refinement of technical skills. Our residents take the lead in problem analysis and solution design, as described above. They act as supervised surgeons rather than observers. In the final semester of their senior year, our residents are sufficiently prepared for independent practice.

The integrated program is available to three residents per year for six years.