Dermatology Residency Curriculum

Each year in the Dermatology Residency at Baylor College of Medicine offers unique training opportunities and responsibilities.

Inpatient consults are built in at the VA, Ben Taub and Texas Children's. Residents also the opportunity for inpatient consults at Baylor St. Luke's Medical Center.

Residents have surgery exposure including Mohs while at the VA, Ben Taub and Jamail.

There are also monthly cosmetic workshops with hands-on experience on Thursday late afternoons.

The Dermatologic Surgery Service at Baylor College of Medicine includes four full-time dermatologic surgeons (Dr. Ida Orengo, Dr. Ikue Shimizu, Dr. Zeena Nawas and Dr. Jennifer Ranario) trained in Mohs micrographic surgery as well as multiple cosmetic and reconstructive procedures.

Baylor residents obtain excellent and comprehensive surgical experience throughout their three years of training. Recommended standards set forth by the American Board of Dermatology are easily attained Surgical procedures are scheduled for residents at the VA Medical Center and Ben Taub Hospital beginning the first year of training. Residents have a weekly excision clinic at the VA Medical Center and also are scheduled weekly to participate in the Mohs surgery clinic on Mondays and Wednesdays. Additional surgical experience is gained at the Smith Clinic and Jamail Specialty Care Center. 

The Pediatric Dermatology Service at Baylor is staffed by four pediatric dermatologists. Clinical activities are based primarily at Texas Children's Hospital, the largest freestanding pediatric hospital in the United States. An outpatient clinic is located at TCH, where approximately 200 patients with Medicaid and private insurance are seen each week. The clinic performs patch testing. Inpatient consults are seen at Texas Children’s and The Pavilion for Women. 

The Pediatric Dermatology Service is active in the multi-disciplinary Vascular Anomalies Clinic. A Candela pulsed dye laser is located in the outpatient surgical suite at Texas Children's, where treatment of vascular malformations is frequently performed. NB-UVB phototherapy and Excimer Laser are also offered in the Pediatric Dermatology clinic.

A wide selection of techniques and technology gives Baylor dermatologists the flexibility to offer treatment for a variety of skin problems, providing quality care for patients who want to improve their appearance.

Procedures include neuromodulators injections (examples: Botox, Dysport, and Xeomin), injectable fillers (examples: Juvederm and Restylane), injectable biostimulatory products (example: Sculptra and Radiesse), Platelet rich plasma (PRP) treatment, body contouring treatments (Coolsculting, and Kybella), tightening devices, chemical peels, and laser treatments for rejuvenation, sun damage, scars, hair removal, and blood vessels.

Available energy devices are the Candela V-Beam Perfecta, Candela GentleMax Pro, Fraxel laser by Solta, Lumenis UltraPulse CO2 laser, and Lumenis M22 IPL, Candela Profound, and CoolSculpting.

Experience in dermatopathology is provided by weekly didactic conferences (Mondays and Fridays), a dermatopathology selective, and interaction with the staff dermatopathologist concerning patients on the resident's service. The staff dermatopathologist and assigned resident review dermatopathology specimens from the outpatient Baylor laboratory material and from the outpatient clinics at the VA Hospital and Ben Taub Hospital. Material on inpatients is available from Texas Children’s Hospital and Ben Taub Hospital.

Residents take call from home for a week at a time. The on-call resident handles all consults and questions from the VA, Ben Taub, Baylor St. Luke's (including Jamail Specialty Care Center private patient calls), and Texas Children's Hospital. There are two different attendings on call every week, one for medical/pediatric dermatology and one for dermatologic surgery. 

Each call is one week, Monday - Friday from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. and Saturday and Sunday. Pager handoff is at 8 a.m. on Monday.

Holidays are split among the residents, with the major holidays assigned to first-year residents. New first-year residents have senior resident backup during their initial call rotation. The frequency of call decreases as residents advance through the years.

A major interest of the Department of Dermatology is the pursuit of clinical research.

Clinical research is performed in the Jamail Specialty Care Center by the physicians. Baylor Dermatology has an excellent track record of time study completion, consistent follow-up and careful documentation. Funding is provided by both independent grants generated by investigators and pharmaceutical sponsored research.