Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the breadth and depth of the services you cover?

Residents are actively involved in the preoperative, operative and postoperative care of the patients.  The residents cover all aspects of the Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery (PRS) including:

1. General PRS
2. Craniomaxillofacial
3. Oculoplastic surgery
4. Cosmetics
5. Microsurgery
6. Post bariatric surgery
7. Do your residents feel comfortable with operating?

Our residents are actively engaged in the patient’s care and routinely are the point person in their care.  They are given graduated responsibility and routinely are able to operate independently with minimal prompting.  Our residents will graduate with mastery of PRS and are on the track to graduate with well over the minimum of 1000 reconstructive cases and 150 aesthetic cases.

3. What is the size of your OR?

Our newly opened OR suites boast 12 Stryker OR’s in the main OR and 5 OR’s in the Same Day Surgery Center with 2 minor rooms.

4. Are there outside rotations for the residents?

We continue to work on our outside rotations to ensure that our residents are given the best education possible.  Currently, we send our junior residents to an outside medical center for a 1-month burn rotation.

Each year, our residents rotate for two months every year in a private practice that enhances the reconstructive surgical experience and 1 month in additional aesthetic cases. Also, PGY-7 and PGY-8 residents rotate in a microsurgery and gender affirming rotation.

5. What is the call schedule like?

Primarily home call.  Hand call is generally taken by the orthopedic residents.

6. What other services do you work with?

There are 12 independent residencies and 4 fellowship programs at St. Joseph’s University Medical Center.  The PRS residents work with Orthopedic, OMFS and General Surgery residents closely.  However, our residents are the focus of our division and no other residency program rotates through the PRS program.  This allows our residents to gain the best educational experience as possible.

7. Is research emphasized and are there attendings actively involved in research endeavors?

Yes, it is emphasized and all our faculty attendings are required to have a yearly publication, presentation or state/national committee involvement.  Residents are required to have one research project (presentation, publication) yearly.