Career Development Opportunities
Our program offers a tremendous breadth of opportunities for career development. We believe that mentorship and sponsorship are critical in advancing one's career, and have established formal faculty-resident and peer-to-peer programs to facilitate these relationships. We also understand that residents need protected time to take full advantage of the opportunities available. Below we describe career development opportunities, mentorship programs, and protected time offered to our residents.
Meetings
Each year, our residents attend the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology. Four times each year, they attend Saturday conferences hosted by the New England Dermatological Society. These live patient and didactic sessions are hosted by dermatology programs across the New England area. Residents are eligible to attend the Annual Resident Retreat for Academic Physicians, sponsored by the Society for Investigative Dermatology. Once each during training, residents attend the Annual HMS sponsored Dermatopathology Conference and Laser and Aesthetic Skin Therapy Conference. Residents are allotted additional meeting days per year, and are encouraged to partake in additional educational conferences in accordance with the program's meeting policy. Our program and affiliated hospitals offers funding to subsidize meeting expenses.
Electives
Residents are provided with up to three months of elective time during residency. Electives provide our residents the opportunity to explore areas of clinical or research interest through activities that are not part of our required curriculum. Activities may include basic science or clinical research, subspecialty clinics, community service, industry-related experiences, or global health outreach. Per ABD guidelines, residents are permitted one month of elective time away from the program.
Global Health Opportunities
Our program offers several global health experiences that residents can participate in during their elective time. These opportunities include participation in the AAD/Botswana Service Activity, Global Health Initiative in Kenya with Dr. Esther Freeman, Vietnam Vascular Anomalies Clinic (VAC) with Drs. Rox Anderson and Thang-Nga Tran, and Medical Laser Clinics in Armenia with Dr. Lilit Garibyan. There is also tremendous flexibility and ppportunity for self-initiated projects.
Technology and Innovation
Our program strives to be at the cutting edge of innovation in our specialty. We are proud to have a long history of faculty leaders in laser and device development. Our residents are encouraged to participate in the Magic Wand Initiative, which was co-founded and developed by Dr. Lilit Garibyan and Dr. Rox Anderson. In addition, MGH offers an Innovation Award to support and advance resident-led innovations. We also offer hospital specific resources to support innovation and device development.
MGB COE offer innovative cross-specialty educational opportunities that complement clinical training by providing residents and fellows with exposure to four important areas of health care delivery: global and humanitarian health, health policy and management, healthcare quality and patient safety, and medical education.
Career Development Committee
This resident-led committee organizes events to inform and guide residents as they consider different career paths. Invited speakers connect with residents over a meal and address topics including job search and negotiation, fellowship application, and subspecialty careers.
Alumni Network
The Harvard Dermatology Alumni network is connected and closeknit. Current residents and alumni gather annually at the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology. Our alumni database is available to our residents for professional networking; our alumni have served as research mentors, preceptors, and didactic speakers for our residents. We are truly grateful for our alumni's loyalty and commitment to our program.
Protected Time
On most rotations, residents are given one academic half day per week to dedicate to career development pursuits. Residents are also given one month of elective per year. As described above, residents are provided time and funding to attend educational meetings. Lastly, residents are allotted days to interview for jobs and fellowships in their senior year.
Some of our residents at the Skin of Color Update Conference in New York, 2023
Our residents at the 2019 Harvard Medical School Dermatopathology Update conference.
Members of our faculty and resident, Nick Theodosakis, along with residents and faculty from UMass and BU, addressed Congressman Joe Kennedy and congressional Chiefs of Staff regarding healthcare issues.