Sampson Regional Medical Center (SRMC) dermatology residents recently traveled to Orlando, Fla., to attend the annual ODAC- Dermatology, Aesthetic and Surgical Conference, where they were able to show locally-cultivated skills on a large stage.
The three dermatology residents made a spur of the moment decision to compete in a highly-distinguished trivia competition. The quick decision paid off as all three residents took home titles in the competition.
“Dermatology residents from across the country competed against one another from schools such as Duke, UNC, Wake Forest and Johns Hopkins,” stated Allie Strickland, Marketing and Community Relationscoordinator for SRMC.
Strickland said the residents’ success shows their skill and determination, as well as displaying that the residency program is helping to prepare them for the real world.
The ODAC program conference happens every year and first-year dermatology residents are welcomed to attend. This was the first year for Dr. Luke Maxfield, a second-year resident, as well as Dr. Chelsea Harper and Dr. Muneeb Shah, each first-year residents.
Maxfield explained that the dermatology program at Campbell University, where the SRMC residents attend, is relatively new and has been in existence for around seven or eight years.
The local dermatology residency consists of six residents.
According to Dr. Sarah Dail, the Dermatology and Transitional Year Program coordinator, once they graduate from college, they spend a general year which is known as a transition year where the residents get a little taste of everything. Then, the residents go through three more years of dermatology. They are based out of Wilmington, but they also spend time in Clinton.
Maxfield conceded it felt good to know that, despite the residency partnership between SRMC and Campbell still being relatively new, the residents at the Clinton hospital’s campus are getting training on par with larger, more established programs. He went on to say that SRMC and Campbell have continuously supported them as students and have given them the chance to be able to compete.
The residency program serves the Clinton and Wilmington community by having at least one to two dermatology residents work every month in Clinton and the other four to five in Wilmington. They can also elect at certain times to travel to Concord and work on Mohs surgery or Aurora and spend time in a Pathology lab.
Dail stated that the program has a 100% board pass rate and students travel all across the country to work, with one student as far as California.
“I’m very proud of them,” Dail continued. “The residents have such a hunger for knowledge. They are interested in what they do and they go for it.”
The three students are competitive by nature so they were pretty happy with their success at the conference.
“It feels really good that we’re receiving top-notch training and our knowledge base is pretty good,” said Maxfield.
The ODAC conference has evolved over the last decade, originating from a merely cosmetic component toward a revamp in recent years, Maxfield noted.
“There’s actually world experts on each of the subjects to come and speak at our present conference,” Maxfield added. “A lot of the program, although voluntary, will have the residents and attendants from across the nation — it’s not just a regional conference.”
A larger general session features lectures from notable speakers, while smaller sessions go further in-depth.
“A great thing about being able to attend these is that we all have our individual interests, where we’re able to attend a different portion of the conference and then share that together,” Harper noted. “I know for Dr. Shah and I being first years, we’ve really gleaned a lot of information from our upper levels because they’ve already had a chance to attend several different conferences.”
Echoing Maxfield’s sentiments, Harper noted the support of SRMC and Campbell, through which they are given the chance to attend such conferences, see how other programs work and how their program might compare.
“There are some of us that have an interest in aesthetic dermatology and then there are others that have more interest in surgical dermatology pertaining to oncology like Mohs surgery, and then others that have interest in complex medical derm,” Shah stated. “These breakout sessions, they may be focused on a particular topic.”
Regardless of interest, Shah said learning from the world’s expertsw as an invaluable tool.
The residents are interested in doing more medical mission trips and said that these conferences can expose them to subject matter they may not seein North Carolina.
“In order to prepare for this conference and others of like kind, (SRMC) Dermatology residents have a rigorous didactic schedule,” Strickland added. “SRMC has a strong faculty influence in both Mohs surgery and Dermpath tracks and residents are very self-driven, each of them publishing a minimum of three research articles a year.”
The residents went to the NC Derm Association meeting a week after the ODAC conference. As part of the meeting, the four dermatology residencies in North Carolina, including Sampson Regional’s, were asked to present their best research, considered a sizable honor.
Maxfield, Harper and Shah are thankful for the support from their program director, Dr. Jonathan Crane, Campbell University and SRMC for the opportunity to attend the regional and national conferences. The dermatology residents said they felt the experience has made them better able to serve their patients in the Clinton community.
On May 2, there will be a free skin cancer screening, hosted by SRMC for the second year.
