Residency

So You Want To Become a Plastic Surgery Resident?

Posted by svenimal on

So You Want To Become a Plastic Surgery Resident?

Let’s start with the basics. What you will need:

  1. Get into medical school. This is a whole other topic entirely.
  2. A love of plastic surgery, because why else would you do this to yourself
  3. Academic success, especially in Step 1
  4. Research, really any will do
  5. A good letter from someone in plastic surgery

I will address all of these areas in more detail on later posts but this is just an overview.

I think that one of the hardest things is figuring out early if plastic surgery is for you. I was lucky to come into medical school knowing a bit about the breadth of plastic surgery beforehand, and so I already had interest. I feel that many people I meet find that they love plastic surgery when they are in their 3rd and 4th years of medical school, making it harder to get all the pieces together for a residency application.

The rumors are true: you will have to do well on Step 1. The better you do, the better your chance of getting into plastic surgery. It is the a sour truth but it is true. Many schools may not even look at your application if you do not meet their minimum Step 1 score. With that said it is not impossible to get in with a lower score but you will have to be strong in some other way or know someone that will help you get that interview or higher position on the rank list. Also there is a bit of luck involved. I know people with great applications coming from top medical schools that did not match into plastic surgery and people with less shiny applications that got in. These are outliers but they do exist.

Research is important. I do not think that research specifically in plastic surgery is necessary, but it helps. Doing research in plastic surgery allows you to meet people that you will need to write your letters and will potentially give you the opportunity to go to conferences which will allow you to meet people of influence and to pad that resume. Some students take time off to do dedicated research or get another degree. My advice is you should do dedicated research time if you think that it will add to your education or further your interest. The downside is if you are not productive during that time you may have wasted your time, and programs may look unfavorably on that. This is a bit of a gamble.

Letters are very important. Plastic surgery is a small field and especially in the academic arena everyone knows everyone. A good letter is vital to getting in. I would try to find a mentor in plastic surgery as soon as possible. Let them know you want to go into plastic surgery and see if you can shadow them or work on projects with them. During my second year of medical school I started going to the resident educational conference when I was able and started shadowing on bread and butter cases in plastic surgery. Getting to know the residents is also useful they always need help with research and it was a good way to find out if plastic surgery is right for you.

Don’t lose hope. You can do this!