Resident Aesthetic Surgery Training: The University of South Florida Model

Abstract

The University of South Florida has established a 3-year plastic surgery residency that includes a 4-month formal clinical rotation in aesthetic surgery with the Division of Plastic Surgery clinical faculty and a 4-month rotation as a chief resident who oversees the resident aesthetic surgery clinic. This report introduces the University of South Florida resident aesthetic training model and reviews the operative experience of each chief resident who completed the residency program. The total number of aesthetic surgery cases involving the 5 chief residents who completed the program in 1997 and 1998 was obtained from the Residency Review Committee operative logs. Each chief resident who completed the program first-assisted with 201 ± 97 (mean ± SD) aesthetic surgery cases, mainly during the 4-month clinical rotation, and then performed 114 ± 21 aesthetic surgery cases as a primary surgeon, mainly during the chief-resident rotation. The program’s 2 rotations—both the clinical faculty and the aesthetic surgery clinic experiences—provided complementary and intensive training opportunities in aesthetic surgery.