From the Director
Welcome to the UMass Chan Medical School Dermatology Residency Program website! Here you will find information about our current residents, faculty, educational program, and details on the application process. We have had a fully-accredited residency program since 1991 and currently have 11 residents (expanding to 12 starting in 2023.) We pride ourselves in a collegial environment, devoted faculty, and comprehensive training in the breadth and depth of dermatology. I am excited to share with you what makes UMass Dermatology special.
Our program provides training in all aspects of dermatology. Clinics are almost exclusively formatted in the continuity model, whereby residents are involved in the care of their patients from initial presentation through follow-up visits. This system offers residents exposure to the natural course of care and gives the experience necessary to be successful immediately upon graduation. Our medical dermatology clinics offer exposure to a wide variety of pathology: from common diagnoses with known solutions, to undifferentiated presentations requiring extensive work-up, to recalcitrant chronic disease where we as physicians are partners in the ongoing management of life-altering issues. Our subspecialty training is similarly robust, including advanced care of hidradenitis suppurativa, cutaneous lymphoma, connective tissue disease, epidermolysis bullosa, laser/cosmetics, contact dermatitis, vitiligo, and more. The inpatient consultative service is led by a dedicated dermatology hospitalist and time on this service is protected to allow residents to fully care for these patients. Surgical and pediatric clinics are staffed by fellowship-trained experts and care for the most complex patients in the region and beyond.
Outside of the clinic, residents learn through a robust didactic program (8 hours per week) led by our committed faculty. Teaching, volunteerism, research, and quality improvement are all domains where residents are involved, lead, and grow their passions during training. Two half-days per week are provided to support work on these interests. Our residency has been commended by the Dermatology Residency Review Committee and our own Graduate Medical leadership for the quantity of research our residents perform. Fellowships are offered at UMass in procedural dermatology, dermatopathology and pediatric dermatology, and a formal mentorship system is in place to help residents navigate the next steps in their career, wherever that may be.
At UMass Dermatology, we serve the people of Worcester and surrounding Central Massachusetts. Our patients are diverse in every aspect (20% of the Worcester population was born outside the United States) and we care for those from every background. As a trusted local institution known for world-class healthcare, we are a proud part of the community, and outside our clinic walls provide service through local free clinics, skin cancer screenings, Teddy Bear clinic, AAD Camp Discovery Connecticut, and more.
Our department’s collegiality and longstanding history of a highly supportive culture makes UMass a wonderful place to work. We are immensely proud of our current residents and graduates, and look to continue to train the next generation of world-class dermatologists who will dedicate themselves to making positive impacts on the field and their communities.
Patrick Mulvaney, MD MPH