Stanford Dermatology Resident Life
Welcome to the Stanford Dermatology resident page! We hope this information will help you understand what life is like as part of the Stanford dermatology family. As you may appreciate from the photos below, we spend a lot of time together in and outside of the work place and have a strong sense of community.
Location and Transportation
Stanford is ideally located in the peninsula approximately half an hour away from San Francisco, providing residents with unmatched clinical and research opportunities, as well as a great place to enjoy personal and family life.
Stanford main campus is situated close to both interstate 280 and 100 making it easy to get anywhere around the Bay Area. In addition, Stanford residents are eligible for a complimentary Go Pass, which allows unlimited Caltrain trips for free.  Finally, the Marguerite Shuttle is a free shuttle that serves Campus and the surrounding area, including transport to the Caltrain station.
Having a car is essential, as during the course of your residency you will rotate at numerous clinical sites including the Stanford Cancer Center, Stanford Hospital, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, Stanford Medicine Outpatient Center (Redwood City), Santa Clara Valley Medical Center and the Palo Alto VA.  Fortunately, parking for Stanford Dermatology Residents at most sites is free! Residents will have to purchase a parking pass for main campus clinical rotations. Individuals who elect to cycle to work or use public transportation are eligible to receive Clean Air Cash.
Where We Live
As we cover many clinical sites across the Bay Area, our residents live anywhere from Sunnyvale in the South Bay, to San Francisco. Most residents reside in Redwood City, Menlo Park, and Mountain View as these areas also have the benefit of being somewhat less expensive compared to Palo Alto. If you prefer to live on campus, Stanford offers subsidized resident housing at Welch Road Apartments across the street from the hospital. This complex has 108 unites that range from studios to 2 bedroom/2 bathroom apartments and are awarded using a lottery system. An addition, subsidized housing is also offered in Los Altos and Redwood City.
Activities
Stanford dermatology residents are a close knit group and we enjoy spending time together on weekends and evenings. We are fortunate to have access to numerous recreational opportunities including athletic facilities, Pac-10 sporting events and acres of the open space on campus which are popular among hikers and joggers. Stanford residents have access to four pools, thirty tennis courts, three fitness centers, an indoor rock climbing facility and a championship golf course. Our Stanford dermatology family often attend football events together. We often receive discounted tickets to NCAA sporting events and as part of the SUNSPORT program, we have the opportunity to meet the athletes during skin cancer screenings.
The Stanford area is popular for those that enjoy outdoor activities and there is something for everyone! San Francisco and San Jose are within an hour of driving, where one of our residents likes to organize karaoke. If you are a sports fan, the Bay Area hosts 3 championship teams (Warriors, Giants, and 49ers) all year round. Not into sports? We have several different music festivals in SF and the South Bay for the music connoisseur.
There are many national parks within driving distance such as Yosemite and Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Parks. For those who enjoying skiing, Lake Tahoe and Big Sur are 4-6 hours drive away and, for the wine lovers, Napa and Sonoma wine country can be done as a day trip. Beaches close by include Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay.
If you are a foodie, there are an abundance of diverse food options in the Bay Area including Asian, New American, Indian and Mexican, with a mixture of both fine dining and hole in the wall restaurants to choose from.
Resident Retreat
Every fall we have a fully funded resident retreat, which is planned by the residents. Prior retreats include paddle boarding and pottery making at Half Moon Bay, Go-Karting, escape rooms and scavenger hunts in San Francisco and Chocolate Making at Timothy Adams Chocolates in Palo Alto. During this time, our fellows and attendings cover all inpatient and clinic services, while we spend some quality time with each other.