The Representation of Wellness Programs in Plastic Surgery Residency

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Training
• Resident Wellness

Background:

• Plastic surgery residency presents significant challenges impacting resident wellness and burnout.
• Structured wellness programs, mentorship, and social support are vital for mitigating residency burnout.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze how plastic surgery residency and Graduate Medical Education (GME) websites represent wellness and support programs.
• To compare the online presence of wellness resources between integrated and independent plastic surgery residencies.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional content analysis of US plastic surgery residency and GME websites was conducted in April 2024.
• Data included mentions of wellness, vacation, protected time, spousal support, childcare, mentorship, and social events.
• Statistical analysis used JASP and Microsoft Excel, with binomial and chi-squared tests for comparisons.

Main Results:

• Most plastic surgery residency websites lacked information on wellness programs, spousal support, and daycare.
• GME websites offered more detail but still had discrepancies in vacation and childcare information.
• Mentorship was mentioned in less than half of programs; integrated programs more frequently shared social events on Instagram.

Conclusions:

• Plastic surgery residencies currently do not adequately showcase their wellness programs on public-facing websites.
• Enhanced transparency on both program and GME websites is recommended to better inform potential residents about available support systems.