Newswise — DALLAS – Sept. 10, 2014 – Five specialties at UT Southwestern Medical Center rank among the top 10 national medical residency programs, including the nation’s top program for plastic surgery, according to new listings compiled by U.S. News & World Report and physician referral network Doximity.
UT Southwestern residency programs include rotations through a wide range of health systems, including UT Southwestern University Hospitals and Clinics, Parkland Health and Hospital Systems, Children’s Medical Center, the Dallas Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and others. In addition, UT Southwestern residents will begin caring for patients at two new facilities – UT Southwestern’s new $800 million William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital, which is set to open in November 2014, and the new Parkland Memorial Hospital, scheduled to open in 2015.
UT Southwestern residency programs ranking among the top 10 are:
- No. 1 in Plastic Surgery
- No. 6 in Obstetrics and Gynecology
- No. 8 in Urology
- No. 9 in Dermatology
- No. 10 in Internal Medicine
Other UT Southwestern residency programs that ranked in the top 25 nationally include: Surgery at No. 12, Neurology at No. 17, Neurological Surgery at No. 18, Nuclear Medicine at No. 19, Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at No. 20, Pediatrics at No. 23, Diagnostic Radiology at No. 24, and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at No. 24.
“Through UT Southwestern University Hospitals and Clinics, and close collaboration with our partners – including Parkland, Children’s Medical Center, the Veteran’s Administration, and others – we are able to offer an unsurpassed depth and breadth of clinical experience that ensures that our trainees are thoroughly prepared for a lifetime of caring for patients,” said Dr. Daniel K. Podolsky, President of UT Southwestern, who holds the Philip O'Bryan Montgomery, Jr., M.D. Distinguished Presidential Chair in Academic Administration and the Doris and Bryan Wildenthal Distinguished Chair in Medical Science. “We are deeply grateful for the trust of our patients, as our faculty and residents work side-by-side to provide exemplary care.”
UT Southwestern has the largest program in Texas that prepares physicians to care for the people of the region, state, and beyond. This includes more than 30 residency programs and more than 60 subspecialty and fellowship programs administered and operated through individual departments, said Dr. J. Gregory Fitz, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, and Provost and Dean of UT Southwestern Medical School. In 2013, more than 1,500 clinical residents furthered their medical education at UT Southwestern.
“We are gratified by this recognition of the quality of the training provided to UT Southwestern residents, as well as the underlying strengths of the dedicated faculty who provide their expertise in educating new generations of physicians. One of UT Southwestern’s most satisfying missions is to develop top-notch physicians who will translate the skills they acquire here into the best care available to patients throughout Texas and the rest of the country,” said Dr. Fitz, who holds the Nadine and Tom Craddick Distinguished Chair in Medical Science, and the Atticus James Gill, M.D. Chair in Medical Science.
“We take pride in the environment of learning that is available at this institution and its affiliated hospitals and clinics,” said Dr. Bradley Marple, Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education, and Professor and the Vice Chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. Dr. Marple holds the T.C. Lupton Family Professorship in Patient Care, in Honor of Dr. John Dowling McConnell and Dr. David Andrew Pistemnaa. “Recognition such as this reflects, in part, the commitment of our hospitals, clinics, faculty, and staff to providing Graduate Medical Education in a setting of uncompromising patient safety, quality of care, and professionalism,” he added.
The rankings are the first comprehensive national study of residency programs, according to U.S. News & World Report. The rankings were compiled from evaluations of 3,691 medical and surgical residency programs by more than 50,000 peer nominations from board-certified U.S. physicians. This is the first time that data on a national evaluation of residency programs has been made public, according to U.S. News & World Report.
Highlights of the UT Southwestern residency programs ranked by U.S. News & World Report include:
Integrated Plastic Surgery
UT Southwestern’s Plastic Surgery Residency Training Program is one of the first, the largest, and most sought after plastic surgery residency in the United States, having 22 residents. The Integrated Program is a six-year course, providing a comprehensive, well-rounded balance of clinical training, structured education, and graduate research involvement. Residents begin with 15 months dedicated to integrated core plastic surgery training and then spend almost five years of rotations in dermatology, orthopaedic hand surgery, oral and maxillofacial surgery, ophthalmology (oculoplastic), and otolaryngology.
Obstetrics and Gynecology
UT Southwestern Medical Center has the largest residency training program in the nation, with 80 approved positions in Dallas and another 20 positions in Austin. More than one out of every 50 Ob/Gyn residents in the country trains at UT Southwestern, and about a third of residents pursue fellowships after graduation. With more than 275,000 ambulatory visits and 12,000 deliveries annually, Parkland Health & Hospital System is the primary teaching venue for the program, and starting this year, will rotate through UT Southwestern’s new Clements University Hospital, which includes an emphasis on difficult births and a new NeoNatal Intensive Care Unit. Residents focus on developing skills in intrapartum management, high-risk obstetrics, ultrasound, and prenatal care. Residents also gain experience in the treatment of a broad spectrum of disorders in gynecology, gynecologic oncology, reproductive endocrinology, and urogynecology. Specialized curricula focus on pelvic anatomy, dysplasia, and laser treatment.
Urology
UT Southwestern’s Urology resident training program trains residents for careers in academic medicine or clinical practice. Overall, approximately 50 percent of graduates go on to additional fellowship training with recent graduates pursuing training in pediatrics, oncology, and female pelvic floor medicine and reconstruction. UT Southwestern urology residency offers robust surgical experience in robotics, oncology, pediatric urology, female pelvic medicine, incontinence, urethral reconstruction, stone disease, and laparoscopy. Basic surgical skills training also is provided by the UT Southwestern Center for Minimally Invasive Surgery.
Dermatology
UT Southwestern Medical Center is the first of only two accredited dermatology residency programs in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex. The faculty combines mastery of general dermatology with expertise in defined dermatological subspecialties. Several general dermatology clinics and subspecialty clinics treat a wide variety of conditions and provide a variety of services: contact allergy, cosmetic dermatology, surgery, Mohs micrographic surgery, pediatric dermatology, pharmaceutical studies, pigment cell disorders, rheumatic skin disease, and vascular malformation/laser surgery.
Internal Medicine
The UT Southwestern Internal Medicine residency program is based on a commitment to teaching and lifelong education in the scientific principles of medicine, and also in the belief that each physician must be challenged to evaluate patients and to make decisions in their care when they are most in need. While working as part of a team, the intern is the physician directly responsible for the care of patients on the wards and in the ICU, who help to formulate the patient’s plan of care, write the orders, and perform the majority of invasive procedures under supervision.
Interns in the UT Southwestern Internal Medicine Training Program rapidly become adept at a wide variety of procedures, including central line placement, intubation, and lumbar puncture, among many others. The resultant sense of patient ownership, when coupled with the complexity and diversity of our patients and excellent mentorship by our faculty, guarantees that every graduate of the program will be proficient in the skills required to be an exceptional academician, specialist, or primary care provider. The residency experience is loosely grouped into five categories: wards, ICUs, clinics, consults, and electives.
About UT Southwestern Medical Center
UT Southwestern, one of the premier academic medical centers in the nation, integrates pioneering biomedical research with exceptional clinical care and education. The institution’s faculty includes many distinguished members, including six who have been awarded Nobel Prizes since 1985. Numbering more than 2,700, the faculty is responsible for groundbreaking medical advances and is committed to translating science-driven research quickly to new clinical treatments. UT Southwestern physicians provide medical care in 40 specialties to nearly 91,000 hospitalized patients and oversee more than 2 million outpatient visits a year.
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