Plastic Surgery Training in the Era of Integrated Programs
Plastic surgery training has undergone and evolution in the recent past, like several other surgical specialties, and no longer follows the paradigm of surgical residency followed by specialty training. Although those traditional pathways exist, and allow
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Plastic Surgery Training in the Era of Integrated Programs Michelle Roughton and C. Scott Hultman
Abstract Plastic surgery training has undergone and evolution in the recent past, like several other surgical specialties, and no longer follows the paradigm of surgical residency followed by specialty training. Although those traditional pathways exist, and allow for entry into plastic surgery from several specialties, integrated programs allow students to match into plastic surgery from medical school. This chapter examines both pathways and offers thoughts on how to be successful in pursuing training in plastic surgery.
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Introduction
Traditional, independent plastic surgery training is 3 years long and most commonly follows completion of a full general surgery residency. However residents completing neurosurgery, otolaryngology, oral-maxillofacial surgery, orthopedics, and urology are also eligible for plastic surgery training (www.ACGME.org). Although commonly referred to as a ‘fellowship’, plastic surgery is truly a second residency and as such, residents are not allowed independent operating room privileges. Independent residents apply through the San Francisco match (https://www.sfmatch. org/). Integrated plastic surgery residency is a 6-year training program where residents spend 3 or less years in general surgery and the remaining time in plastic surgery and related rotations. Like other integrated programs, this is an NRMP match from medical school.
M. Roughton (*) • C.S. Hultman University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2017 M.J. Englesbe, M.O. Meyers (eds.), A How To Guide For Medical Students, Success in Academic Surgery, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42897-0_16
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M. Roughton and C.S. Hultman
The integrated plastic surgery match is competitive. In fact, with a 2014 match success rate of 72 % (up from previous years around 50 %), the integrated plastic surgery match is the most competitive of all medical specialties (www.nrmp.org). Many applicants apply to two specialties (most commonly general surgery) to increase their success rate in the match. The integrated track is appealing to applicants as it takes less time to complete training. For some, this translates into increased freedom to pursue further subspecialty training available in craniofacial, aesthetics, hand, and microsurgery. For others, it is appealing to hone in on their chosen field earlier in their career rather than perfect many operations they will no longer perform. The independent track also continues to thrive. Many medical students are not exposed to plastic surgery in their medical school curriculum and as such do not discover their aptitude or interest in the field until residency training. A common theme is the general surgery resident discovering breast reconstruction following mastectomy deciding their passion lies in “filling the hole, rather than making it.” The independent track is less competitive t
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