Accessibility of academic plastic surgeons as mentors to medical students

Determining a field of specialty can be a difficult decision for medical students. Career plans are often fostered through exposure to the field and mentorship, but it is often hard to identify accessible mentors. The purposes of this study were to determine the prevalence of accessible mentors among academic plastic surgery faculty and to characterize predictors of accessibility.

An audit was conducted of academic plastic surgeon faculty affiliated with integrated and combined residency programs. A request for mentorship was sent from a medical student enrolled at the faculty member's affiliated medical school. Sources for e-mail addresses included residency program Web sites, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons Web site, and a manual PubMed search. Independent predictors of accessible mentors were determined.

There were 498 e-mails delivered and 363 responses received (response rate of 73%). In total, there were 283 positive responses, resulting in 56.8% of plastic surgeons contacted identifying themselves as accessible for mentorship. Younger age [odds ratio (OR), 1.72; P = 0.005], Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (OR, 1.49; P = 0.035), and faculty members of medical schools ranked in the top 20 (OR, 1.75; P = 0.003) were associated with an increased odds of accessibility.

Most academic plastic surgeons are accessible as mentors (78%). Medical students enrolled at a highly ranked medical school seeking younger faculty mentors may have the greatest access to research opportunities and career advice. Encouraging faculty to participate in mentorship is important in developing the next generation of plastic surgeons.