Dermatology Residency Program

The University of Massachusetts Medical School Dermatology Residency Program celebrated its eighteenth anniversary in 2009. The academic offices and all ambulatory facilities (except the V.A. clinic) are located at the UMass Memorial Health Care Hahnemann campus. Residents spend 90% of their time at the Hahnemann campus; an off-site rotation is a weekly clinic at the Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic, about one mile away. Residents see inpatient consultations at the two hospitals- the University and Memorial campuses of UMMHC. Each resident spends one month per year in the dermatopathology offices on the Biotech campus. Microscopes and high definition projections are available in the Jeffrey D. Bernhard Library at the Hahnemann Campus.

Karen Wiss, MD, FAAD, Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics, has served as Residency Program Director since January 2008. She has been an integral part of the residency program since 1992, after receiving her B.A. (1980) at The University of Texas in Austin and MD (1985) at The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, followed by a pediatric internship and dermatology residency at The University of Texas Medical Branch (1989). Karen spent three years on the Harvard Medical School faculty at Children’s Hospital in Boston and then joined the UMass Medical faculty in 1992 as Director of Pediatric Dermatology. Her clinical and teaching practice is based at the Hahnemann campus of UMass Memorial Health Care. Dr. Wiss’s professional interests include pediatric dermatology, epidermolysis bullosa, genodermatoses, childhood exanthems, cutaneous developmental defects, pediatric laser, journalology, and undergraduate/graduate medical education.

Practicing at only two ambulatory sites allows our residents to maintain continuity of care for their patients (95% of clinics are "continuity clinics"), an important element of the program's success. Furthermore, the high faculty to resident ratio, plus the diversity of faculty interests, create an ideal training environment.

Location:

• UMass Memorial Health Care, Hahnemann Campus
• UMass Memorial Health Care, University Campus
• UMass Memorial Health Care, Memorial Campus
• University of Massachusetts Medical School
• Worcester Dept. of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic

Facilities

General medical and pediatric dermatology clinics, phototherapy center, laser center, dermatologic surgery center, library/conference room, resident offices, faculty offices, V.A. clinic.

Residency Staff

Nancy J. Hennessey  Residency Coordinator

Maureen LaVigne Administrative Secretary

Diana Vires  Administrative Secretary