Course description
Entrance Requirements include a medical degree (M.D. or M.B.B.S.) from a recognized university, a year of internship, one or more years of experience in medicine (preferably with an emphasis in dermatology), and proficiency in English. TOEFL scores are required.
Once accepted, trainees are enrolled as special students at the Boston University School of Medicine and are covered by the School’s malpractice and health insurance policies.
The Master of Science and Doctorate programs, designed for medical graduates seeking advanced training in dermatology or dermatopathology, are based on U.S. graduate medical training methods, encompassing didactic lectures, seminars, conferences, direct patient contact, and in the case of the Doctorate degree, a thesis requirement. All clinical sessions are under direct faculty supervision, and trainees are given increased responsibility as their training progresses.
The Master of Science and Doctorate Programs are academcic, course-based programs that provide clinical dermatology training with a sound basis in the fundamentals of dermatologic science. Students in these programs are assigned to clinical outpatient sessions (4 to 6 per week) at the Boston Medical Center, where they have primary patient responsibility under faculty supervision, as well as rotations in the Department’s Section of Dermatopathology and inpatient consultation service. Specific rotations in dermatologic surgery and laser surgery provide additional instruction in these increasingly important dermatologic treatment modalities. Courses include Clinical Dermatology, Clinical Pathological Correlation, Basic Dermatopathology, Diagnostic Dermatopathology, Cutaneous Microbiology, Photobiology, Dermatologic and Laser Surgery, Structure and Function of the Skin, and Sexually Transmitted Diseases and AIDS.
Daily clinical exposure is complemented by lectures, seminars and conferences by members of the faculty and invited prominent speakers. Monday afternoons and Wednesday mornings are devoted to academic activities. At bi-weekly Grand Rounds, interesting cases are presented and discussed. Other academic activities include quarterly meetings of the New England Dermatologic Society; other regional dermatology meetings; and the annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology.
Instruction of trainees in the Department of Dermatology is yearlong from July 1 thorough June 30. Three weeks of vacation per year is customary.
As is customary in clinical medical education, in many courses students at different levels will be enrolled simultaneously. Indeed, the students will enroll each year in some courses (e.g., Clinical Dermatology). In such instances, the instructor will take into account each student’s level in grading and guiding the student’s course participation. A higher level of performance will be demanded of a more advanced student. Individualized teaching and evaluation is readily accomplished in the Program’s small group format. Many instruction groups consist of two to four students and the entire Program enrollment is not expected to exceed 15 students. At least ten hours per week of lectures, slide reviews and other didactic instruction is provided.
