Identifying Barriers Faced by Applicants without a Home Residency Program when Matching into Plastic Surgery.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Residency Admissions

Background:

• Plastic surgery (PS) residency application is highly competitive.
• Lack of a home residency program (HRP) presents a significant barrier for applicants.
• Understanding challenges and solutions for unaffiliated PS applicants is critical.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize the challenges faced by plastic surgery applicants without HRPs.
• To identify effective strategies and solutions for these applicants.
• To assess the impact of HRPs and PS divisions on applicant success.

Main Methods:

• Electronic surveys distributed to integrated PS residents and applicants in the 2022 Match without HRPs.
• Inclusion of U.S. allopathic graduate responses only.
• Analysis of survey data to compare experiences of matched vs. unmatched applicants and residents with/without PS divisions.

Main Results:

• 66% of respondents felt disadvantaged by the lack of an HRP.
• 76% of applicants without HRPs successfully matched.
• Matched applicants were more likely to have mentors (97% vs. 40%) and utilize senior students/social media for resources.
• Residents with PS divisions reported better opportunities for exploration and fewer disadvantages in research and mentorship acquisition.

Conclusions:

• Plastic surgery applicants and residents without HRPs report significant disadvantages in the matching process.
• Access to PS departments or divisions appears to facilitate successful matching.
• External outreach, research involvement, and mentorship are key strategies for unaffiliated applicants.
• Increased networking opportunities at professional meetings are recommended to support these applicants.