How well-trained/well-accepted are graduates from integrated and/or combined programs? Do they have any gaping holes in their education due to their shortened curriculum? Is there any bias against them with respect to fellowships or joining private practices?
I heard Dr. Kawamoto (craniofacial guru at UCLA) say the he would not take anyone into his craniofacial fellowship that did not do a full five years of general surgery. I have also had conversations with others (general surgery trained plastic surgeons) that didn't feel the combined residencies resulted in a better trained plastic surgeon. In the first case, Dr. Kawamoto, while certainly famous and an exceptional surgeon, is in his 70s and has an "old school" approach. I think this attitude, while pervasive several years ago, is beginning to fade (although some may argue this).
What am I basing this on, you may ask? Even if you weren't, here it is...
I trained at a plastics program that had an independent spot (after 5 years of general surgery) and a combined spot. I was initially concerned that there would be a training "mismatch" and that I'd be a co-resident with someone who didn't really know what they were doing. I was very pleasantly surprised. The reality was that we both knew things the other didn't. For instance, he knew a lot more plastic surgery than I did, even though I had more than the average exposure to plastics in my GS training. I attributed this to my needing to learn how to be a general surgeon in case I didn't get a fellowship, and him always knowing he was going into plastics and spending his time studying/reading for that outcome. On the other hand, there were some aspects of patient care and management that he missed because he didn't have the extra two years, had never been chief of a service, etc. Technique-wise, there really was no difference. At the end of two years, I believe we came out fairly even.
I really think it's the part about patient care/management/ and the extra two years of experience that gave the impression that the combined programs weren't as good. This doesn't mean that these skills aren't learned, only that they had to be "taught" in a combined setting where it had previously been taken for granted, if that's making any sense. As the combined model evolves, I see this becoming less pertinent. Plastic training is going to be extended to three years (instead of two) and in some programs, four years. And as the independent slots slowly disappear (emphasize slowly), and the teaching faculty become populated with graduates of combined programs, it won't make any difference anymore.