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UF Health University of Florida
Division of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery Department of Surgery in the College of Medicine
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Education Overview

Visiting Students

Syllabus for Plastic Surgery Rotation

Welcome to plastic surgery! We are excited to have you with our service and look forward to teaching you about our specialty. You will notice our specialty is both reconstructive and cosmetic, adults and children, and that we operate anywhere on the body. Due to our surgical diversity, we are trained to be creative problem-solvers and no two cases are approached exactly the same.

Expectations

What you will learn:

  • Diagnosis and treatment of congenital craniofacial anomalies including clefts
  • Physical diagnosis and treatment of hand and upper extremity injuries and disease
  • Physical diagnosis and treatment of craniomaxillofacial injuries
  • Diagnosis and treatment of skin cancers
  • Physiology of flaps and grafts
  • Pharmacology of local anesthetics
  • Reconstructive options in patients with breast, head/neck cancer, and other complex wounds
  • How the plastic surgeon handles the cosmetic patient

Student Expectations:

  • Attend at least one session of the multidisciplinary craniofacial clinic during the rotation held on Thursday from 1p-5p in the Medical Plaza. Dress is professional.
  • Reconstructive (breast, hand, head/neck, pediatric) and Cosmetic patients are discussed monthly during the Wednesday morning Pre-operative Conference
  • Knowledge in basic patient care will be acquired daily on rounds and consults with the residents
  • Manual skills emphasized in the Operating Room and the Emergency Room

Evaluations: You will be graded on the six competencies, and on the COM proscribed 9-point scale, which will be anchored by standardized statements. 5-7 would be considered average. Attendings will individually fill out evaluations through New Innovations for each student.

Schedule

While we expect the schedule to potentially alter and change according to emergent / urgent patient care needs and faculty absence, the weekly schedule is as follows:

UF Health Springhill and UF Health Shands Hospital

  • Monday – Springhill Clinic & OR
  • Tuesday – Springhill Clinic & OR
  • Wednesday – Conference 6:45 – 8:00am, Springhill Clinic & OR
  • Thursday – Springhill Clinic & OR, Craniofacial Clinic 1-5pm
  • Friday – Springhill Clinic & OR

Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center

Clinic is held on Tuesday and Friday, OR the other days of the week.

Students will rotate rounding and call responsibilities on weekends. They will accompany and coordinate with the Resident On-Call for specific time and duties.

To get the most from the rotation, we recommend:

  • You should round every morning with the resident team. (Contact the intern or resident the night before for rounding time.)
  • Depending on the intern and resident, you may obtain vitals, lab results, or dressings for the in-house patients.
  • You should see consults when available.
  • You should round with the attending and resident/intern between cases if possible.
  • All clinic dress is professional. No scrubs.

Faculty and Key Personnel

Attendings

  1. Bruce Mast, MD – Division Chief
  2. Jessica Ching, MD – Program Director
  3. Loretta Coady, MD
  4. Harvey Chim, MD
  5. Trajan Cuellar, MB BCh
  6. Ellen Satteson, MD
  7. Sarah Virk, MD

Extenders

  1. Anne Staples, PA-C
  2. Dawn Daigen, PA-C
  3. Jaime Rafanan, PA-C

Fellows

  1. Jacob Carlson, MD
  2. Jonathan Dang, MD
  3. Brianne Sullivan, MD

Residents

  1. Mustafa Chopan, MD
  2. David Kerekes, MD
  3. Kristina Crawford, DO
  4. Jonathan Butts, MD
  5. Peter Vonu, MD
  6. Haley Oberhofer, MD

Reading Materials

In addition to the books and reading materials that have been listed for the main syllabus, you may benefit from more detailed information that is found in:

Grabb and Smith’s Plastic Surgery is a good general text for most patients and surgeries that you will encounter. We always recommend asking the resident you will be working with what to read, and this is best done the day before surgery.

Essentials for Students “Plastic Surgery” is a brief text that is good as well.

Educational Responsibilities:

  • Read about patients before going into their hospital room.
  • Read about the operative case (anatomy and basic knowledge) before going into the operating room.

Contact Us

If there are any issues or questions, please feel free to contact Lise Cochran at 352.273.8670.

** Our chief current resident, Jacob Carlson, will be the best contact for information on when and where to join the team the first day of the rotation.

You can also contact the Clerkship Director and coordinator for any questions:

contact saleem islam, md
contact adela vanantwerp