Residency Program

Our residents are integrated into a multidisciplinary care team and are exposed to pathologies most other dermatology residents only read about in textbooks

Residents are supported by faculty who are genuinely invested in their educational experience and professional development through their clinical experience, didactic program and investigative opportunities.

About the Residency Program

The Department of Dermatology provides a three-year clinical residency program. The program is designed to offer residents comprehensive exposure to dermatology in a supportive environment.

Our program is very committed to resident education. There are two dedicated half-days of lecture time per week, which all residents attend together. Lecture series are given by faculty and cover topics including basic science, medical dermatology, surgical dermatology, dermatopathology, cosmetics, cutaneous oncology, kodachromes, dermatopharmacology, infectious disease and pediatric dermatology. Residents are expected to commit to independent reading associated with these sessions along with reading related to direct patient care.

Beyond bench to bedside care, the department is committed to giving back to the community. Our residents and faculty attend an annual weeklong camp called Camp Wonder sponsored by the Children’s Skin Disease Foundation. This camp gives children with chronic and life-threatening skin disease the opportunity to experience summer camp without feeling like patients. Residents have the opportunity to act as camp counselors and medical staff.

The USC/Los Angeles General Medical Center program provides comprehensive training in medical dermatology in children and adults in inpatient and outpatient settings, procedural dermatology and dermatopathology. Outpatient subspecialty clinics include Immunobullous Disease, Rheumatology-Dermatology, Hansens Disease, Psoriasis, Pediatric Vascular Anomalies and HIV as well as Mohs surgery and dermatologic oncology and cosmetic dermatology. The inpatient dermatologic consultation services at Los Angeles General Medical Center, Keck Hospital of USC and Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles (CHLA) are robust. The program and faculty are committed to resident education in a supportive and collegial involvement which includes predominantly faculty-led didactic lectures, monthly Grand Rounds and dermatopathology signouts. We recruit and train residents who want to share in our Department’s mission to lead the efforts to improve the lives of patients with skin diseases through the integration of patient care, education and research. The program provides a unique, unmatched clinical training experience through hands-on exposure to large, diverse patient populations including serving the skin care needs of our underserved population at our primary training site: Los Angeles General Medical Center. Complementing this experience at our safety-net institution are rotations at the VA, private clinics at Keck Hospital and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (which is staffed by four fellowship-trained pediatric dermatologists). An approachable faculty that appreciates the importance of mentorship and teamwork provides residents with the balance of supervision and progressive autonomy to reduce health care disparities and ensure patient safety and quality outcomes. The Department is ranked 7th nationally in NIH funded research with diverse opportunities for resident engagement in these and other scholarly activities