Our Program
Our Program
The Plastic Surgery Residency Program at UCSF, is led by Scott L. Hansen, MD, FACS, Program Director and Division Chief; and Julie Ann Sosa, MD, MA, FACS, MAMSE, FSSO; Professor and Chair, UCSF Department of Surgery. We are fully integrated, with 6 years of training under the authority and direction of Dr. Hansen.
Navigate through our pages to learn more about the clinical curriculum, research program, quality improvement, excellent core, affiliated, and volunteer faculty, and our clinical sites. You can also get weekly updates by following us on Instagram @UCSFplasticsurgery.
UCSF Plastic Surgery Residency Program Overview
Program Overview | Eligibility Recruitment and Selection Policy | How to Apply
The UCSF Plastic Surgery residency program offers 4 positions in the first year. 3 are eligible for the categorical Plastic Surgery program and are expected to complete the program in 6 years. 1 Resident is eligible for for the categorical Plastic Surgery program research track and is expected to complete the program in 8 years.
Goals
The goals of our plastic surgery residency program are two-fold. The first is to prepare residents to become safe, qualified, board-certified surgical practitioners. The second is to train residents to be future teachers and leaders in surgery. A review of graduates from the past 20 years indicates that greater than 80% continue in fellowship programs and almost half become surgical academicians associated with university departments of plastic surgery. We prepare residents for a wide range of career paths by providing comprehensive training across core surgical services. Residents gain foundational experience in general surgery, vascular surgery, transplant, trauma, critical care, and anesthesia, with additional exposure to select surgical subspecialties such as ENT, neurosurgery, and orthopedics. The first two years focus on building knowledge and skills in the perioperative management of patients, while the final years emphasize the development of operative expertise, surgical judgment, decision-making, and leadership within plastic and reconstructive surgery. The learning experience is based primarily on direct patient care. The experience is rounded out with formal teaching exercises that include service rounds, surgical technique workshops, research seminars, basic science conference, morbidity and mortality conference, and departmental grand rounds.
Clinical Rotations
Residents rotate to a variety of hospitals, allowing residents to take care of patients in many different practice settings. Residents rotate through our flagship hospital Moffitt/Long - a quaternary care center and major university research hospital, the San Francisco General Hospital - the city's municipal hospital and only Level 1 trauma center, the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center - a referral center for other regional VA hospitals, the UCSF/Mt. Zion Hospital – a clinical outpatient center, St. Francis Medical Center- renowned burn center, and the California/Pacific Medical Center - a private-practice clinical setting where our residents train with private community-based plastic surgeons. This combination of hospitals gives residents broader exposure to clinical surgery than any program in the country.
Research
As an academic center, we emphasize research and provide the opportunity for residents to engage in research activities throughout their training. We expect our residents will want to pursue academic careers and research time is a requirement for academic success. Residents can choose to perform basic science, clinical research, outcomes research, global health, or translational research. Additionally, the Resident matched into the research track each year will complete 2 years of research after their PGY 3 training year. This resident along with the other opportunities for research, will have dedicated time to complete MPH, MBA, PhD should they desire. There are opportunities to work in the laboratories of leading basic science researchers throughout the university. We have equally strong clinical and translational research opportunities in gastrointestinal surgery, trauma, sepsis, vascular disease, surgical oncology, fetal surgery and wound healing.
Why UCSF?
Our faculty includes outstanding clinicians and researchers whose skills and expertise cover all disciplines of surgery and many fields of scientific investigation. Even though many are on the cutting edge of research or clinical surgery our faculty are accessible to the residents on ward rounds, in the clinics and in the operating room. Our faculty enjoy teaching and closely supervise residents in the treatment of patients. Residents work with a faculty advisor of their choice through all years of training and thus have at least one individual to turn to for guidance and support. We live in one of the most beautiful and ethnically diverse cities in the United States and our faculty and residency program reflect this diversity. The bay area offers some of the best dining in the country and has a vast array of cultural activities, major sporting events and endless opportunity for outdoor adventure. Our Plastic Surgery residency training program is rigorous and demanding but at the completion of training you will be a highly competent practitioner of surgery.
