The Plastic Surgery Residency program at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center is a three-year, ACGME accredited training program which offers two pathways: a six-year combined General Surgery/Plastic Surgery residency alternating yearly with a three-year Plastic Surgery residency beginning at the PGY4+ level.

In the combined path, during the initial three years of training, the successful applicant trains under the Department of Surgery, including a one-month internship rotation spent on the Plastic Surgery Service. Formal training in plastic surgery will commence in the PGY-4 year. The resident will work with the entire faculty in the Section of Plastic Surgery and will do away rotations for burn, cosmetic, and a busy private practice experience.

DHMC provides a comprehensive and broad-based training experience through exposure to the outpatient clinics, minor surgery suite, main operating room and inpatient wards. Most of our faculty members have fellowship training and subspecialty areas of clinical and research interest, which permits an exposure to a wide spectrum of plastic surgery problems.Residents are assigned two half-day supervised clinics per week, providing them with a regular opportunity for both new patient workups as well as followup evaluations.

During the final year of the program, the Chief Resident is given increasing responsibility for coordinating and customizing the educational and clinical aspects of the program. Residents at every level are involved in the management of all plastic surgical problems presenting through the medical center Emergency Department. There are research electives throughout the residency to provide a meaningful opportunity in Plastic Surgery research. During the Chief Resident year, there is also a unique opportunity for an overseas experience. Throughout the training program, an emphasis is placed on providing our residents with an abundance of supervised operating and decision-making experiences. This approach ensures an adequate development of skills, allowing the resident to assume substantial clinical independence in the final year.