Too little too late for plastics?

[tyler4492]

Thanks

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[surgeon1813]

Listen man, don't let anyone tell you that you shouldn't do something (within reason). One thing I have realized is that there are MANY ways to accomplish the same tasks in medicine and you CERTAINLY don't have to go the traditional routes. I am a 6th year gen surgery resident (our program requires 2 years research) and was planning on applying for a plastics fellowship. I was going to jump through everyones stupid and outdated hoops in medicine to become a plastic/cosmetic surgeon until I started realizing how absolutely ridiculous and outdated this training is. First, I wholeheartedly wish I had chosen a 5 year gen surg program. Second, there is no reason that I need to be doing all these effing monotonous appendectomies and cholecystectomies when what I really want to do is cosmetic surgery. The only thing they are good for is learning surgical techniques...which can be done in a shorter time and without all the hours per week. Furthermore, why would I play their effing game of applying to a competitive plastics program when one doesn't need all that training when you aren't going to be using half of it. I know the ortho guys bitch all the time of podiatrists doing foot surgeries but those guys have it right. If you KNOW you want to operate on feet then you should start doing that from DAY ONE. Along that thread, I had said "eff it" to applying for plastics and am just doing a 1 year cosmetic fellowship. Yes, the plastics folk despise those fellowships but you know why.....because of the "if I have to do it then so should you" that is so prevalent in medicine. One can't argue that more training doesn't improve skill, but there is a point of diminishing returns. You can always argue that a primary care doc would be better to have 10 years of residency, but at a certain point it becomes impractical.

So if you want to do cosmetic surgery then I for one think you should. So you changed your mind a few times. Many specialists wish they had chosen something different but just can't go back and go through the training process all over again...whether its income, kids, will power. If you don't have those limitations then go for it. If you are in a top 10 IM program I would say chances are pretty good you can find a gen surg program somewhere that will take you (read elsewhere in the forum about funding issues). After that, do a 1 year cosmetic fellowship. They are not too competitive at all when compared to plastics.

Hope that helps.

 

[maxheadroom]

I expect that most programs will not be interested in someone who is looking to make a third switch in training programs. Most of us will wonder, "What are the chances that this guy will make it through six years of training?"

Maybe consider Derm? Not unheard of after IM residency and there are aesthetic things with injectables/lasers/chemical peels that might satisfy your desire for aesthetic medicine.

Doing cosmetic surgery without any sort of surgical training at all seems like a long stretch.