All didactics sessions listed on this page are requirements and protected time for all plastic surgery residents, regardless of the rotation, from PGY 1-6 years.

Didactics

You will attend weekly conferences on Monday afternoons, consisting of one hour of M+M, journal club, or hot seat, followed by a 1.5-hour topic presentation by a resident or faculty. Residents are paired with staff to create two presentations per academic year on a topic as part of the ASPS Ed Net curriculum. M&M discussions occur on a monthly basis. Monthly to bimonthly hot seat presentations allow residents of all years to practice for oral boards in a low-stress setting. Other topics include biannual business of plastic surgery lectures, cadaver labs, journal clubs, and more.

Microsurgery Skills Lab

You will have 24/7 access to a microsurgery lab located on campus. The lab is equipped with six operating microscopes, synthetic and preserved vessels, and instruments for perfecting microsurgical skills. In addition, our microsurgeons and microsurgery fellow host quarterly microsurgery training labs, during which residents gain further practice under the guidance of experts.

Cadaver Labs

As part of our weekly didactic schedule, we regularly schedule sessions, led by our faculty with the assistance and equipment of our representative partners, within the cadaver lab to augment topics being presented. Some examples of prior sessions include plating and pinning of hand fractures, distal radius and wrist fractures, facial trauma, and both upper and lower extremity flap harvest. Aside from formal sessions, residents are given the opportunity to arrange personal sessions through contact with the cadaver lab staff.

Facelift Symposium

The annual Facelift Symposium was first held in spring 2017. Since then, the program has expanded, bringing in experts in the field of aesthetic facial plastic surgery. Instructional training is provided by world experts on fresh cadaver heads. Instruction spans from facelift techniques to rhinoplasties. The symposium was started and is chaired by our chairman Dr. Richard Korentager and Dr. Chris Surek (Surek Plastic Surgery, Kansas City), an alumnus of our program. Previous esteemed visiting professors include Dr. Bryan Mendelsohn (Melbourne, Australia), Dr. James Zins (Cleveland Clinic), and Dr. Jamil Ahmad (Toronto).

Mock Orals

Our biannual mock oral exams are an opportunity for you to further hone your surgical decision-making skills in preparation for oral boards at the conclusion of residency. Residents gain valuable practice in creating books and preparing for known cases and learn to think on their toes for a series of unknown cases.

Business of Plastic Surgery

Each year, we devote three to four didactic sessions to teaching our residents the art and science of plastic surgery as a business. Topics rotate year to year but include malpractice insurance and legal issues, advertisement and social media, costs of starting and maintaining a practice, patents and intellectual property, contract negotiation, and more. Each session is led by either a local or national expert.

Visiting Professors

We have a strong visiting professorship program, which functions as a partnership with the Kansas City Plastic Surgery Society. Every month or two, leaders in the field from various specialties come to share their expertise with the residents and community plastic surgeons. The following day, residents and our visiting professors have one-on-one protected time. Visiting professors also spend time with residents annually on Resident Research Day. Our program has had the privilege of hosting multiple society-sponsored visiting professors through the American Society for Reconstructive Microsurgery and American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.

Resident Clinics

In addition to the Resident Cosmetic Clinic, run by our chief residents, we hold quarterly clinics to allow residents of all years to practice non-surgical cosmetic procedures on willing volunteers. Under the supervision of our faculty or community-based partners, you will conduct procedures including Botox, filler, Kybella injections, and laser treatments.

Teaching Medical Students

Residents play an active role in the teaching of our medical students. Aside from daily interactions, which occur with rotating medical students, our residents and faculty hold quarterly hands-on suturing sessions with third-year medical students prior to beginning their surgery rotations. This allows for the development of suturing techniques in student preparation for their surgery clerkships and further maturation of teaching skills for residents. Additionally, semi-annual sessions are arranged with first- and second-year medical students, where residents move from table to table teaching the basics of suturing.

Wellness Inspired Resident Education (WIRE)

In 2020, the WIRE curriculum was initiated, starting with a leadership seminar in the Fall. The goals of the curriculum are to discuss wellness-related issues, foster resident camaraderie, and decrease resident and faculty burnout. Sessions are held on a bi-monthly basis with camaraderie events held on months without formal sessions. Residents, faculty, and students are invited to participate, and topic-dependent, family members are also invited to attend. The year culminates with a resident wellness retreat during which all residents are excused from hospital duties. Prior topics of discussion have included balancing family & surgical life, culture and community, finances, and contract negotiation.