The Dermatology Residency Training Program in the Department of Dermatology at the University of Iowa is a fully approved, three-year program which provides trainees with educational and practical experience that will enable them to deliver superior specialized skin care to patients.

Residents get comprehensive training in adult and pediatric dermatology and dermatologic surgery. The correlation of cutaneous pathophysiology and histologic findings with clinical disease and response to therapy is strongly emphasized in our clinical services. While the emphasis of training in this department is clinical, research (either clinical or laboratory) is encouraged and adequate time for such research studies will be made available on an individual basis.

The Dermatology Residency Training Program accepts up to seven residents each year. All trainees are expected to complete the three-year program, but appointments are for one year with yearly reappointment. It is expected that all trainees will be eligible for board-certification by the American Board of Dermatology (ABD) upon completion of their residency.

The clinic facilities utilized by our trainees include the UIHC main campus clinics (Pomerantz Family Pavilion clinic and the Stead Family Children’s Hospital specialty clinic), the UIHC Iowa River Landing clinic, and the Iowa City VAMC. All clinics are well-equipped for comprehensive dermatologic patient care.  A CLIA-certified laboratory with a light microscope is located within each clinic space, available for the microscopic examination of bedside diagnostic specimens such as fungal & ectoparasite scrapings and Tzanck preparations. Thin-layer Rapid Use Epicutaneous (TRUE) patch testing is routinely performed at all clinic locations. Full-body and hand/foot narrowband UVB phototherapy services are provided at the UIHC main campus clinics and the Iowa River Landing clinic. UVA-1 phototherapy is also offered at the UIHC main campus clinic (Pomerantz Family Pavilion Clinic). Photodynamic therapy treatments are offered at the Iowa City VAMC. In terms of lasers, collectively, the UIHC main campus and Iowa River Landing clinics house a 595 nm pulsed dye laser, a long-pulse Nd:YAG and alexandrite laser, a Fraxel DUAL non-ablative 1550 nm/1927 nm laser, and a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser, a Sciton Halo non-ablative/ablative 1470/2940 nm laser, and a Sciton erbium ablative 2940 nm laser.

Approximately 45,000 patient visits are made yearly to the clinical service areas within the department. The residents carry a major responsibility for patient care, under faculty supervision. Patients are drawn from a large geographic area (all of Iowa, western Illinois, and northern Missouri), providing a wide spectrum of diseases. In addition to referrals from outside the University, a large number of referrals are seen from the University of Iowa Student Health Service and other specialty departments within University of Iowa Health Care.