Students Matriculating into Integrated Plastic Surgery: Are all Medical Schools Equal?

Alice Yau ¹, Marina A Lentskevich ¹, Narainsai K Reddy ²

⁰Division of Plastic Surgery, Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital, Chicago, IL.

The Journal of Craniofacial Surgery +

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June 3, 2024

View abstract on PubMed

Summary

Medical schools with plastic surgery (PS) elective rotations and home programs significantly increase student matriculation into integrated PS residency. These programs enhance opportunities for aspiring plastic surgeons.

Area Of Science

Medical Education
Surgical Training
Plastic Surgery

Background

Medical school curricula for plastic surgery (PS) exposure are inconsistent.
Becoming a craniofacial/pediatric plastic surgeon requires completing a PS residency.

Purpose Of The Study

To investigate the association between PS elective rotations and/or home programs in medical schools and the proportion of students entering integrated PS residency.

Main Methods

Compiled a list of 198 medical schools from AAMC and AACOM.
Identified PS residency programs and gathered data on elective rotation offerings and student matches (2021-2022).
Compared mean matriculation proportions between schools with and without PS electives/home programs.

Main Results

159 medical schools were analyzed; 48% had both electives and home programs, 40% had electives only, and 12% had neither.
Schools with both PS electives and home programs had the highest mean matriculation proportion (1.14%).
Schools with PS electives only had a mean matriculation proportion of 0.51%, while those with neither had 0.09%.

Conclusions

The presence of elective PS rotations and a home PS residency program significantly increases the likelihood of students matriculating into integrated PS residency programs.