Dr. McLaughlin attended medical school at East Tennessee State University where she was elected a member of Alpha Omega Alpha medical honorary. She completed a General Surgery residency at the Medical College of Georgia. During that time, she completed an elective year of research studying craniofacial growth and development. Upon presenting her research nationwide, she was awarded the Hardesty award at the annual meeting of the Plastic Surgery Research Council.

She remained at the Medical College of Georgia to complete a Plastic Surgery residency. Her training then continued in Dallas, Texas, where she completed a Craniofacial Surgery fellowship at Medical City Dallas Hospital. The scope of this training was predominately pediatric reconstructive surgery which offered a more extensive pediatric plastic surgery experience than general plastic surgery training. Upon completing her fellowship, she was faced with the difficult decision to either relocate from the Dallas-Fort Worth area and pursue a Craniofacial practice or remain in Texas and establish a general Plastic Surgery practice...having elected to stay in Texas was the best decision she ever made.

Fellowship
Craniofacial Surgery
Jeffery Fearon, M.D.
The Craniofacial Center
Medical City Dallas Hospital
Dallas, Texas
July 2003 to June 2004

Residency
Plastic Surgery
Medical College of Georgia Hospital and Clinics
Augusta, Georgia
July 2001 to June 2003

General Surgery
Medical College of Georgia Hospital and Clinics
Augusta, Georgia
July 1996 to June 2001

Research
Medical College of Georgia Hospital and Clinics
Jack C. Yu, M.D.
Associate Professor and Chief, Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

Internship
General Surgery
Medical College of Georgia Hospital and Clinics
Augusta, Georgia
July 1995 to June 1996

Medical School
M.D., James H. Quillen College of Medicine
East Tennessee State University
Johnson City, Tennessee
August 1991 to may 1995

Undergraduate
B.S., University of Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky
August 1987 to May 1991

Board Certification
The American Board of Plastic Surgery
The American Board of Surgery

Licensure
Texas
Number L7481
Issued October 2003

Georgia
Number 046886
Issued February 1999

Awards
J.K. Hardesty, M.D. Best Poster Award, Plastic Surgery Research Council 43rd Annual Meeting for “Extrinsic Tension Increases Connexin 43 and Smooth Muscle Actin in Immature Rat Cranial Sutures”, April 4-7, 1998.

Societies
American Society of Plastic Surgeons
American College of Surgeons
Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honorary
Texas Medical Association
American Medical Association
Fort Worth Surgical Society
Tarrant County Medical Society