Plastic Surgery Inclusion in the Undergraduate Medical Curriculum: Perception, Challenges, and Career Choice-A...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Plastic Surgery
• Surgical Training

Background:

• The undergraduate medical curriculum is often overcrowded, with limited formal exposure to plastic surgery.
• Understanding students' perspectives on plastic surgery is crucial for curriculum development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare medical students from different educational settings regarding their understanding of plastic surgery.
• To assess preferred learning methods for plastic surgery education.
• To identify factors influencing career choices in plastic surgery.

Main Methods:

• A prospective cohort study utilizing anonymous web-based questionnaires.
• Involved final year medical students from Birmingham University (UK) and McGill University (Canada), plus a non-medical staff control group.
• Data analyzed using Chi-square tests with a significance level of p ≤ 0.05.

Main Results:

• Birmingham students were more likely to equate 'plastic' with 'cosmetic' surgery compared to McGill students.
• McGill students primarily learned about plastic surgery through teaching, while Birmingham students and controls relied on media.
• McGill students showed greater interest in curriculum inclusion, with lectures preferred by McGill and optional modules by Birmingham students.

Conclusions:

• Medical students acknowledge the necessity of integrating plastic surgery into undergraduate curricula.
• Significant differences were observed in students' sources of information, understanding of procedures, and preferred learning modalities for plastic surgery.
• There is an urgent need to reform undergraduate plastic surgery teaching globally in collaboration with educational bodies.