Elective time during dermatology residency: A survey of residents and program directors

Elective time during residency training provides residents with exposure to different subspecialties. This opportunity gives residents the chance to nurture growth in particular areas of interest and broaden their knowledge base in certain topics in dermatology by having the chance to work with experts in the field. The purpose of this study was to assess the views of residency program directors and dermatology residents on the value of elective time through a cross sectional survey. An eight-question IRB exempt survey was sent out to 113 residency program directors via email through the American Professors of Dermatology (APD) program director listserv. Program directors were asked to forward a separate set of 9 questions to their residents. The majority of programs that responded allowed for some elective time within their schedule, often during the PGY 4 (3rd year of dermatology training), but the amount of time allowed widely varied among many residency programs. Overall, residents and program directors agree that elective is important in residency training, but no standardization is established across programs.