The goal of the UW Plastic Surgery program is to train plastic surgeons in all four parts of academic medicine: patient care, medical education, medical research and administration. The plastic surgery program utilizes five University of Washington-affiliated hospitals. The hospitals include the UW Medical Center-Montlake, UW Medical Center-Northwest, Harborview Medical Center, the VA Puget Sound Health Care System, and Seattle Children’s Hospital. There are also rotation experiences at community hospitals and in private-practice plastic surgery office settings.
Interdisciplinary training and collaboration are hallmarks of training at University of Washington (UW). The University of Washington Burn Center is located at Harborview Medical Center and is involved in the residency program. The Division also participates in the Unified Hand Service. There are multidisiciplinary care experiences in craniofacial surgery at Seattle Children’s Hospital and breast reconstruction at the UW Medical Center among others.
Kari Keys, MD Associate Professor Associate Program Director karik3@OBFUSCATEuw.edu
Shannon Colohan, MD, MSc Associate Professor Assistant Program Director Site Director, University of Washington Medical Center scolohan@OBFUSCATEuw.edu
Craig Birgfeld, MD Associate Professor Assistant Program Director Site Director, Seattle Childrens Hospital birgfeld@OBFUSCATEuw.edu
Learn in a variety of different healthcare settings across the Seattle region.
Harborview Medical Center
As the only designated Level I adult and pediatric trauma and regional burn center in the state of Washington, Harborviewserves as the regional trauma and burn referral center for Alaska, Montana and Idaho and the disaster preparedness and disaster control hospital for Seattle and King County.
Harborview Medical Center cares for a large diversity of patients from all cultures and walks of life in addition to serving uninsured or underinsured patients.
Plastic surgery clinical experiences at Harborview Medical Center include maxillofacial trauma, hand trauma, burns, injuries to the lower extremities and the trunk, and complex microsurgical reconstruction.
UW Medical Center-Montlake
As the No. 1 hospital in Seattle and Washington State (U.S. News & World Report), UW Medical Center-Montlake is one of the world's foremost tertiary referral academic health centers, delivering exceptional, multidisciplinary care to a vast array of patients who come to us from across the globe.
From first of their kind, life-saving surgical procedures to routine adult, maternal and newborn medicine, we're training the next generation of medical professionals. By using the latest advances in medical technology and patient- and family-centered care, we're building a better future for our community.
Plastic surgeons at the UW Medical Center are involved in oncologic reconstruction, breast reconstruction, general plastic surgical reconstruction, and aesthetic surgery.
UW Medical Center-Northwest
UW Medical Center-Northwest is a full-service medical center based in North Seattle, offering emergency and inpatient and outpatient medical, surgical and therapeutic care. The hospital offers personalized, quality care on a beautiful, easy-to-access, 44-acre campus.
UW Medical Center - Northwest is a community-based , non-profit hospital with 281 beds, 2,000-plus employees and a world-class medical staff that provides innovative, technologically advanced, patient-centered care.
At UW Medical Center-Northwest, plastic surgeons provide care for hand pathologies, perform breast and abdominal wall reconstruction, gender affirming surgery, and care for other reconstructive surgical problems.
Fred Hutch Cancer Center
The Fred Hutch Cancer Center is listed as one of the top 10 cancer centers in the U.S. (U.S. News and World Report). It is the No. 1 cancer hospital in the Pacific Northwest and Washington state's only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated comprehensive cancer center. The Fred Hutch Cancer Center research provides world-class cutting-edge approaches to cancer treatment and prevention. Multi-disciplinary care combines powerful science with devoted collaboration, where boundary-pushing discovery happens—compassionate care and science working together.
Seattle Children’s Hospital
Seattle Children’s Hospital is a tertiary and quaternary academic referral which serves as the pediatric and adolescent academic medical center for Washington, Alaska, Montana and Idaho – the largest region of any children’s hospital in the country.
Together, we deliver superior patient care, advance new discoveries and treatments through pediatric research and
The Plastic Surgery Service at Seattle Children's Hospital provides care for congenital anomalies of the head and neck and all other aspects of pediatric plastic surgery.
VA Puget Sound Health Care System
Since 1923, VA Puget Sound Health Care System has distinguished itself as a leader in teaching, research and patient care while earning prestigious recognition as part of the largest health care network in the country. It serves the health care needs of more than 112,000 Veterans living in 14 counties around the Puget Sound in the Pacific Northwest.
With a reputation for excellence, innovation and extraordinary care of our nation’s heroes, the VA Puget Sound is a university level VA and a regional referral site for VA's northwest region, VA Puget Sound Health Care System provides care for Veteran populations encompassing Alaska, Montana, Idaho and Oregon.
The plastic surgery practice at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System includes most aspects of plastic surgery except pediatric and acute trauma.
Valley Medical Center
Founded as a public district hospital in 1947, Valley Medical Center is a 321-bed, acute care community hospital. As the oldest and largest public hospital district system in Washington State, Valley Medical Center serves more than 600,000 residents in Southeast King County.
Rotations
Currently, the plastic surgery residents rotate on the various plastic surgery rotations starting as interns. They gain exposure to a wide variety of other surgical services and critical care on rotations such as orthopedics, burn, acute care general surgery, vascular surgery, trauma ICU up until the R3 year. The experiences they gain on other services help to make the plastic surgery residents well-rounded surgeons. Starting as R4s, the residents only rotate through plastic surgery services. They are on service at the major hospitals as well as several local private practices.
Conferences
The residents attend weekly plastic surgery didactic conferences on Wednesdays, even while on off-service rotations. Additionally, each hospital site conducts site-specific weekly lectures. The conferences include attending speakers, resident presentations, small case groups, in-service question review. The Didactic Conference Planning Committee, which is composed of a group of residents and Dr. Shannon Colohan review and edit the curriculum annually to ensure all necessary topics are covered and scheduled appropriately, as well as incorporate resident feedback.
The annual Buehler Lecture is named by his family for Peter K. Buehler, a plastic surgery faculty member at University of Washington who passed away in the midst of a promising academic surgery career. This visiting professorship attracts the brightest minds in plastic surgery from the United States and around the world. This is a multi-day event with Grand Rounds lectures, resident presentations and a flap dissection course in which the Visiting Professor leads the Division in cadaveric dissections.
Department of Surgery Education Seminar
A Department-wide education event held every June, this seminar is an inspiring opportunity to gain education and valuable insight on a relevant and timely topic in the realm of surgical education. The topic changes yearly and compelling speakers from both inside and outside the Department participate.
Microsurgery Course
The Plastic Surgery program holds an annual weekend-long microsurgery skills course in the Harborview Medical Center WISH lab. This hands-on practical event allows practice and repetition in a collaborative and stress-free simulation environment.
University of Washington (UW) offers a wide range of benefits as part of your total compensation package:
Choose from top medical and dental insurance programs
Plan for your future with tax deferred investing through the UW retirement options
Vacation: 4 weeks
Protect yourself and your family with life and long-term disability insurance
More information can be found on the UW Benefits website.
University of Washington Housestaff Association
University of Washington residents and fellows formed a union in 2016, the University of Washington Housestaff Association. More information can be found on the UW Labor Relations website.
The stipend schedule for Academic Year July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2022 can be found below. Chief residents are provided an additional monthly supplement of $175 per month.
Level
Annual Stipend
Monthly Rate
R1
$61,800
$5,150.00
R2
$64,200
$5,350.00
R3
$66,852
$5,571.00
R4
$69,708
$5,809.00
R5
$72,708
$6,059.00
R6
$76,128
$6,344.00
R7
$81,144
$6,762.00
R8
$84,648
$7,054.00
R9
$88,536
$7,378.00
Where do residents live?
Rankings
Top 10 Healthiest Places to Live in the U.S.
#1 – City with the Best Outdoor Activities in the U.S.
#1 - Best Coffee City in America
#1 – Best Public Transportation in the U.S.
Top 10 Most Walkable Cities in the U.S.
Top 10 Best Places to Live in the U.S.
Most residents live in one of the many neighborhoods that are walking or biking distance from one of our 5 main training hospitals. Whether you are looking for an apartment in the center of Seattle’s night life, a single-family home with a yard on a quiet street, or quick access to one of our parks, biking/running trails, or waterfronts, Seattle offers vibrant neighborhoods that make life outside the hospital even more enjoyable.
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Of current residents...
61% live with a partner
26% have a platonic roommate
11% have children
42% have pets
65% have house plants
Will I need a car?
Consistently ranked as one of the best cities in the United States for both biking to work and public transit, many of our residents commute in various ways depending on the rotation they are on.
Almost all of our residents eventually get a personal vehicle, which not only facilitates commuting to our 5 training sites, but makes weekend escapes to the surrounding state and national parks even easier.
Interview dates: December 9, 2023, and January 5, 2024
Applications will be compiled from PSCA on October 2, 2023.
Letters of Recommendation are due by October 13, 2023.
Application materials required by the Division of Plastic Surgery and submitted through PSCA websites are:
Common Application Form
Personal Statement
Medical School Transcript Dean’s Letter
Letters of Recommendation (minimum of 3)
Documentation of USMLE Scores
To be notified of upcoming virtual recruitment activities, please sign up here to join our email list. We host virtual recruitment sessions with our program director and residents.
For questions about our program or recruitment, email psurged@uw.edu.
For questions or concerns, please email psurged@OBFUSCATEuw.edu. For further information regarding our recruitment and regular residency updates, please follow our program's social media: Instagram and Twitter.
Harborview Medical Center
UW Medical Center-Montlake
UW Medical Center-Northwest
Fred Hutch Cancer Center
Seattle Children’s Hospital
VA Puget Sound Health Care System
Valley Medical Center
