The combined Cornell/Columbia Plastic Surgery Residency trains future leaders in plastic surgery through its six-year, ACGME-accredited Integrated Plastic Surgery Residency Program.
The program provides experience in all of the core subject areas in the discipline of plastic surgery, including cosmetic surgery, hand surgery, pediatric surgery, craniofacial surgery and microsurgery. However, we provide more than just technical training; we strive to produce not only skilled surgeons but also highly moral and ethical professionals.
Participating institutions include both NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center/Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital. Residents also rotate through Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the Hospital for Special Surgery, and NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem.
Each of these outstanding facilities exposes the resident to the diverse nature of clinical disorders managed by plastic surgeons, from complex tertiary care reconstructions to a resident-run aesthetic surgery clinic. Residents are also exposed to burn care and the interdisciplinary nature of cancer care and traumatic injuries.
Residents devote additional time to an outpatient office experience, where they participate in the care of private practice patients under the direct supervision of Weill Cornell Medicine’s reputable and experienced voluntary faculty. Their work with voluntary faculty gives residents increased exposure to ethical practice, outpatient safety and the business side of plastic surgery.
The first two years of training includes rotations in dermatology, otolaryngology, head and neck surgery, orthopedics, hand surgery, anesthesia, oculoplastic surgery, ophthalmology and core surgical experiences.
In the final four years, the training paradigms focus on the graded assumption of responsibility for the care of plastic surgery patients across the entire spectrum of the specialty.
Throughout the duration of the program, residents are also required to pursue independent clinical or basic science research. Presentation and/or publication of their research at a national meeting or prominent journal is a requirement for graduation.
Through electives, residents can participate in scheduled surgical missions, as many of the faculty and the participating institutions have long-standing relationships with service organizations and hospitals throughout the world.
NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital’s locations in Manhattan with access to subsidized Hospital housing in New York’s famed Upper East Side location adds a quality of lifestyle experience difficult for other training programs to match. The program has full-time faculty at each participating institution who directly supervise the resident’s experience during each rotation. A large and diverse voluntary faculty, including practitioners from related disciplines like dermatology, otolaryngology, orthopedics and urology are also privileged within the division. Over the past decade our resident graduates have either followed career pathways in academic plastic surgery, taken additional fellowship training in craniofacial Surgery, microsurgery, hand surgery or have pursued private practice opportunities in equal numbers. All resident graduates participate in the certification process offered by the American Board of Plastic Surgery with 100% of the graduates becoming board-certified over time. The program has two residents each year for a total complement of twelve residents. The two positions are filled through the NRMP PGY-1 match each year. The program is in complete compliance with all ACGME, New York State, and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital rules and regulations regarding resident supervision and work hour limitations.