Plastics PD Program Facilitates Career Exploration and Self-Reflection

While some prefer to leave work at the office, after a long day in the OR, many health care professionals choose to decompress with a good medical drama. Despite soap-operatic plotlines and glamorized versions of hospital life …everyone—from the attendings down to the interns—has seen the latest episodes.

Thus, it should have come as no surprise when about halfway through the Season 14 premier of Grey’s Anatomy Plastic Surgery Professional Development (PD) Resident Danielle Rochlin, MD, appeared behind Dr. Jackson Avery, played by Jesse Williams.

“The staff, the writers and everyone who works on the show are awesome!” said Rochlin. “It was the last day I was on set, and they asked if I wanted to be in an episode. Of course, I said ‘yes!’”

Rochlin first heard about the opportunity to consult on the show via an email from General Surgery Residency Program Manager Anita Hagan.

“I’ve watched it since the beginning, all 14 seasons,” said Rochlin. “I like the characters, and it’s interesting to see how surgical cases play out on television.”

Rochlin says Grey’s Anatomy’s story lines are drawn from real cases and that the show has a team consisting of three MDs to ensure it is as surgically accurate as possible.

“They’ll often call experts in certain fields for more information or inspiration,” said Rochlin.

Despite acing the phone interview, Rochlin wasn’t able to participate in the official fellowship.

“They were looking for someone who could do a longer period of time, so I was an unpaid fellow and consulted on a more informal basis,” said Rochlin.

Rochlin was only able to spend one month on set, because she had a fellowship waiting for her back at Stanford with the Clinical Excellence Research Center (CERC).

“I’m on a team that is looking into how to reduce costs for high needs patients who have mental illness co-morbidities and low socioeconomic status,” said Rochlin. “Although my topic isn’t completely relevant to plastic surgery, it has taught me how plastic surgery fits into the overall health care system. This experience has given me tools I can then apply to my work.”

Additionally, Rochlin has also used her year of PD time to work with ReSurge International, a non-profit that provides “reconstructive surgical care for poor children and adults who lack access and builds surgical capacity in developing countries.”

“I have a strong interest in global surgery, so I expressed my interest to do some projects on the side,” said Rochlin. “I went to Vietnam in October on a Visiting Educator (VE) trip with ReSurge, and, in January, I’m going to Nepal.”

Dr. James Chang, chief of Stanford’s Division of Plastic Surgery, is a consulting medical officer for the program.

“The purpose of the VE trips isn’t to do as many surgeries as possible,” said Rochlin. “It’s to educate the local surgeons so they can continue to do these cases and help patients after we leave.”

The Division of Plastic Surgery’s PD Program is relatively new, starting in 2015. Modeled in-part after the General Surgery’s PD Program, the Plastics Program is one year in length and takes place between PGY-3 and -4. Rochlin is part of the third cohort to participate.

“We didn’t want to limit our residents to a research year, but rather give them the opportunity to do something that would be useful and productive to their careers as plastic surgeons,” said Plastic Surgery Residency Program Director Dr. Gordon K. Lee. “The requirements are intentionally broad. What the program entails is up to the imagination of the resident as long as it qualifies as a scholarly activity.”

Residents must have their PD year activity vetted by the faculty.

“Danielle is an overachiever,” said Lee. “She’s using her PD time to accomplish a lot of things. Her only limitation is the amount of time in the day.”

Rochlin says her PD year experiences have opened her eyes to boundless opportunities.

“I’d love to remain involved in television consulting. It’s an interesting way to creatively apply what I’ve learned in medicine in a way you don’t do in day-to-day hospital life,” said Rochlin. “At the same time, I would definitely like to have some foot in administration and help solve problems within the larger healthcare system. The field is so broad; I don’t know what I’m going to do, but I’m thankful my program has given me the opportunity to explore all of the options.”

With three years left in her residency, a firm trajectory isn’t something that needs to be decided just yet.

“If there’s ever a place to spend an extra year, it would be here,” said Lee. “…taking advantage of all the opportunities that Stanford has to offer.”