Ask me anything: MS4, matched Plastics

[majestic red]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Hi everyone! Like many other MS4s, I've found myself with more free time on my hands than I'm used to post-match, so I'm starting one of these AMA threads. I've been an SDN member since I was applying to medical school, but have been more of a lurker than an active poster. I have about a week of medical school left and will be graduating with an MA/MD (took a year to do research between 3rd and 4th year). I will be starting internship in an integrated Plastic Surgery program in a few months.

 

[Mr Interesting]

Cool, congrats on matching. Is there any benefit of matching into an integrated residency rather then 4+3 or a 5+2 traditional path other than perhaps saving time?

Are you required to do research blocks in your integrated program?

 

[majestic red]

Cool, congrats on matching. Is there any benefit of matching into an integrated residency rather then 4+3 or a 5+2 traditional path other than perhaps saving time?

Are you required to do research blocks in your integrated program?

As of now, there are really only 2 paths to Plastics: the 6-year integrated program that you do straight out of med school, or the independent path consisting of a full 5 years of Gen Surg residency + 3 years of Plastics. The 4+3 and 5+2 programs no longer exist, and the 3+3 combined programs are being phased out (I think there were <5 combined programs in the match this year).

In my experience, most integrated PRS applicants are interested in doing as little Gen Surg as possible and most integrated programs are moving toward more PRS/PRS-related (ENT, Ortho, OMFS, Derm, etc.) rotations and fewer Gen Surg rotations. The independet route is much less competitive to get into, and is often used as a back-up plan for people who fail to match into an integrated program out of med school.

My residency program requires 3-6 months of research during PGY-4, which is built in to the 6-year curriculum. There are a few 7-year integrated Plastics programs out there, and those programs require 1 year research, usually between PGY-3 and PGY-4.

 

[ChEMD]

What drew you to plastics? What other specialties were you considering and why'd you choose not to pursue them?

 

[Omppu27]

What kind of research did you do between MS3 and MS4?

Was surgery, and more specifically plastics, something you were always interested in?

What is one thing you wish you knew before starting medical school? Was medical school everything you thought it would be like?

 

[majestic red]

Are you the greatest fantasy football player of all time?

To be honest, I've never been much of a sports person. I can barely wrap my head around the rules of normal football, let alone fantasy football @.@

 

[swolebrah]

Since plastics is obv a more competitive residency then landing surg. Any overall advice to land competitive residencies , that a M1 should know? Thanks in advance.

 

[majestic red]

What drew you to plastics? What other specialties were you considering and why'd you choose not to pursue them?

To me, Plastics is all about problem-solving: there are always dozen different ways to reconstruct a defect, and you have to figure out what the best solution is for each individual patient. Some people consider Plastic Surgeons to be the "last General Surgeons," and I definitely see where they're coming from: Plastic Surgeons aren't confined to any specific area of the body or any specific age group. There's so much variety, from craniofacial to hand to microsurgery to cosmetics. Plastic Surgeons also have the reputation of being "surgeons' surgeons"-- they get most of their referrals from other surgeons and are often called in when other surgeons have difficulty closing a defect. Finally, I think that Plastics is much more about improving quality of life (vs. just prolonging life) than many other surgical specialties, which I think is really cool.

Early in medical school, I thought about Radiology (and Interventional in particular), but I quickly ruled it out when I took a Radiology elective during 3rd year-- sitting in a dark room in front of a computer all day was not what I went to medical school to do. The only other specialty that I seriously considered pursuing was ENT-- I really enjoyed head & neck and they do some amazing reconstructions. However, I had no interest in endoscopic sinus surgery or working up vertigo.

 

[La Presse]

Step scores? Please give me ranges if you are uncomfortable. MD or DO school? Are you AOA? What was your MCAT? What region of the country did you match? 😛

 

[sstackhouse]

Lol guess you aren't a fan of that TV show The League then. One of the main characters is a plastic surgeon.

How did Andre get into medical school?

 

[majestic red]

What kind of research did you do between MS3 and MS4?

Was surgery, and more specifically plastics, something you were always interested in?

What is one thing you wish you knew before starting medical school? Was medical school everything you thought it would be like?

I decided that I wanted to do Plastics about halfway through my 3rd year, which is relatively late for PRS applicants. In order to bolster my application, I did a year of research in the lab of the Chair of PRS at my school. I ended up doing a bench research project and getting a 1st author paper.

I came into medical school having really no idea what I wanted to do, except maybe an inkling that I wanted to do something procedural. Surgery was always in the back of my mind, but I tried to keep an open mind (and actively tried NOT to like surgery, given all the horror stories I had heard about the difficulty of surgical residency). I think I mostly had no idea what Plastic Surgery actually was like-- I thought it was all boob jobs and face lifts until I actually did a rotation.

I think that when I was applying for medical school, I put a lot of emphasis on the preclinical curriculum (pass/fail vs. grades, PBL vs. no PBL, organ systems vs. traditonal subjects). Having gone through medical school though, I feel like none of that actually matters. What I should have paid more attention to is the clinical curriculum. If you're interested in specializing at all, definitely pay attention to how much elective time there is during 3rd year. I was fortunate in being able to spend time on Plastics as 3rd year, because I think I would have been at a huge disadvantage if I hadn't discovered it until 4th year.

 

[majestic red]

Since plastics is obv a more competitive residency then landing surg. Any overall advice to land competitive residencies , that a M1 should know? Thanks in advance.

It's a little early to worry about in MS1, but Step 1 is definitely the most important thing to think about in your preclinical years. Not getting a high enough score will close off many highly competitive specialties. Other than that, if you have specific specialty in mind, it's never too early to network with faculty and get involved in research. If I could go back and do it over again, I would be more aggressive about getting involved with research earlier on. On the other hand, don't worry too much if you end up changing your mind later on-- research in any still field looks good on a residency application.

 

[majestic red]

Step scores? Please give me ranges if you are uncomfortable. MD or DO school? Are you AOA? What was your MCAT? What region of the country did you match? 😛

Step 1 and Step 2 were both around 260. MD school. No AOA, but was in the top 1/3 of my class. MCAT score was high 30s. I matched in the Midwest. If you're interested in stats of matched applicants for PRS (or any other specialty), I would recommend looking at the NRMP data reports: http://www.nrmp.org/match-data/main-residency-match-data/

 

[The Buff OP]

Thanks for doing this. It't s about time someone did a thread about plastics going into an integrated residency program. I hope you will be an active poster during your residency (monthly updates).👍

 

[pbrocks15]

1. What do you believe helped you achieve a high MCAT score? Same for your Step scores?

2. Do you believe doing research during medical school is necessary to make yourself a competitive to get into competitive residency programs?

3. How is unpublished research viewed during medical school when applying to residency?

4. What did you do during your free time during med school?

5. Did you like the atmosphere of your school? Was it more competitive or cooperative?

6. How did you like the professors in your school? Where they personable and friendly or did they teach and leave?

Thanks a lot for doing this!

 

[majestic red]

1. What do you believe helped you achieve a high MCAT score? Same for your Step scores?

2. Do you believe doing research during medical school is necessary to make yourself a competitive to get into competitive residency programs?

3. How is unpublished research viewed during medical school when applying to residency?

4. What did you do during your free time during med school?

5. Did you like the atmosphere of your school? Was it more competitive or cooperative?

6. How did you like the professors in your school? Where they personable and friendly or did they teach and leave?

Thanks a lot for doing this!

1. I've always been a decent standardized test taker, but I definitely think it's important to make a good study plan and stick to it. There are many excellent study schedules floating around on the internet and here on SDN-- it doesn't really matter which one you choose, but make sure it's something that seems reasonable and that you'll actually make the time to follow it. Also, don't forget to do plenty of practice questions under the appropriate time constraints and to go over the questions that you got wrong afterwards to make sure you understand what the right answer was and why. I made a habit of doing a set of at least 25-45 questions every day for 2-3 months leading up to Step 1.
2. For competitive residencies, I think you pretty much have to do research to be competitive. The number of people that actually take dedicated research years is a minority, but almost every applicant has done some kind of research. That said, never let research interfere with your academic performance.
3. My feeling, going through the application cycle, is that research doesn't really "count" for anything unless it's getting presented at a conference or published. I've been told that having publications and presentations signals that you can take initiative and get things done.
4. During MS1 and MS2, I was involved in a few different clubs on campus-- student-run clinic, local health screenings, shadowing the occasional attending, etc. In all honesty, though, I took a lot of naps and watched a lot of TV >.>
5. I would say that the students at my school were mostly cooperative. I usually loved having other med students on my team as a 3rd year because we always gave each other a heads up if one of us was going to bring in a paper or something, and it was good to have someone to commiserate with.
6. I was never really the kind to stick around and ask lecturers questions after class during the preclinical years (to be honest, I watched most of my lectures online). However, the majority of the attendings I worked with on the wards were extremely happy to teach and willing to answer questions.

 

[Mr Interesting]

I think I mostly had no idea what Plastic Surgery actually was like-- I thought it was all boob jobs and face lifts until I actually did a rotation.

Thanks for answering my previous question. What is a rotation in plastics like? Do you see more reconstructive surgery vs cosmetics?

 

[metview]

You mentioned that you got a 1st author publication from research during MS3. I was looking at some stats, and it seems like the average publications/abstracts for people matching in plastics or in any top residency is >7. Did you get any other research done besides the the 1st author pub? Also, was it published before you applied or after you applied?

thanks

 

[majestic red]

Thanks for answering my previous question. What is a rotation in plastics like? Do you see more reconstructive surgery vs cosmetics?

The rotation at my school (and at most academic centers, from what I understand) was very much skewed away from cosmetics. At my institution, there are 4 services that students rotate through: Hand, Peds/Craniofacial, and 2 general services (mostly breast and trunk). In addition to rounding/going to the OR on these services, students also take face/hand trauma call with a junior resident once a week.

 

[newborn11]

Thanks for giving back and opening a thread to help us out 🙂
1. I'm trying to decide between a top 25 vs. top 20 med school. In your opinion, did the prestige/reputation of your medical school help you in the match?
2. I have a first author basic science publication from my undergrad/gap year bench research. Clinical research seems to lead to publications at a faster rate than bench/basic science research. In light of this observation, is it more advantageous for me to pursue clinical research as opposed to bench research starting in M1?

 

[majestic red]

You mentioned that you got a 1st author publication from research during MS3. I was looking at some stats, and it seems like the average publications/abstracts for people matching in plastics or in any top residency is >7. Did you get any other research done besides the the 1st author pub? Also, was it published before you applied or after you applied?

thanks

Note that those statistics include publications, abstracts, and presentations-- many projects will end up double counting because you may end up presenting a conference or two, have your abstracts published in the corresponding meeting supplements, and then publish a formal paper. If you count it like this, I ended up having 6-7 entries, even though I really only worked on 2-3 projects. My 1st author pub from my research year was submitted for publication before I applied (which is one of the categories that you can list on ERAS), and was subsequently accepted during interview season.

 

[majestic red]

Thanks for giving back and opening a thread to help us out 🙂
1. I'm trying to decide between a top 25 vs. top 20 med school. In your opinion, did the prestige/reputation of your medical school help you in the match?
2. I have a first author basic science publication from my undergrad/gap year bench research. Clinical research seems to lead to publications at a faster rate than bench/basic science research. In light of this observation, is it more advantageous for me to pursue clinical research as opposed to bench research starting in M1?

1. I think the prestige of my medical school mattered less than that fact that there were several well-known Plastic Surgeons at my institution who wrote strong letters on my behalf. Of course, the two are correlated to some degree, but I doubt the difference between a top 20 vs a top 25 is going to make or break you in the long run. If you do have a specific specialty in mind, though, it may not hurt to do a little research into whether the schools offer a (preferably 3rd year) rotation in that specialty and whether there are any big-name faculty at those schools.
2. Clinical research is much easier to publish than basic science research, but I would recommend doing what you enjoy more. You're not going to be productive if you aren't motivated. I personally tried to do clinical research during MS1, hated it, and didn't really get anything done. I ended up doing bench research and enjoyed it much more.

 

[Doudline]

Where do you stand on the Kinsey scale atm?

 

[majestic red]

Where do you stand on the Kinsey scale atm?

I'd say probably a 1 😛

 

[Bovary]

I'd say probably a 1 😛

If 10 random members of your med school were asked the same question about the Kinsey scale, how many would actually know what the Kinsey scale measures?

 

[Mornhavon]

.

 

[DermViser]

I'd say probably a 1 😛

Only a "probably"? Uh-oh. j.k.

 

[majestic red]

If 10 random members of your med school were asked the same question about the Kinsey scale, how many would actually know what the Kinsey scale measures?

I don't know, but I have to admit that that I had to look up the specifics =P

 

[gettheleadout]

This turned only incidentally homosexual really fast.

Fixed that for you!

 

[Doudline]

OK, a more serious question now.

Having completed an important now of your training now, do you sometimes regret your decision to pursue a medical career? Many medical students/residents here (hai Dermviser) complain regularly that medicine is not nearly as interesting a career as it seems on paper, and that the negatives often outweigh the positives.

Your thoughts? Do you sometimes wish you had pursued a different career path instead?

 

[majestic red]

OK, a more serious question now.

Having completed an important now of your training now, do you sometimes regret your decision to pursue a medical career? Many medical students/residents here (hai Dermviser) complain regularly that medicine is not nearly as interesting a career as it seems on paper, and that the negatives often outweigh the positives.

Your thoughts? Do you sometimes wish you had pursued a different career path instead?

I don't regret going into medicine. We certainly work hard and we certainly go through a lot to pursue this career path, but who else gets to do the kinds of things that we get to do? When I was doing my sub-Is and away rotations several months ago, I saw a neophalus constructed from a radial forearm flap. I saw a hemipelvectomy defect reconstructed with a free filet-of-leg flap. I saw a mandible reconstructed from a free fibula flap. I saw a baby's craniosynostotic skull broken into pieces and jigsawed back together. And I couldn't be more excited about the prospect of learning to do these kinds of things myself.

The path to medicine is hard, and I have to admit that there are aspects of clinical medicine that I found tedious during medical school. I could never go into Internal Medicine, for example, because I find the management of chronic illnesses like CHF, diabetes, COPD, etc. to be frustrating and depressing. In choosing my specialty, I did my best to avoid those parts of medicine that I find tedious or depressing. Part of the reason that I choose Plastics was that I feel like the emphasis in most Plastics cases is to "fix" things: you're not doing the big resections that leave people missing limbs or organs, you're called in to repair the defect afterward. The emphasis is often improving quality of life (restoring function, increasing patient self-esteem, etc).

Basically, I would rather do what I love for 80 hours a week than something I don't love for 40 hours a week.

 

[MalachiteGreen]

What do you think was the most important piece of your residency application? Research, Step scores, essay, something else?

 

[caffeinemia]

This is so sexy. Finally a Kinsey 1 of my caliber! Can I get yo digits, baby girl/boy? (All the way down to the MCPs)

 

[Xenoblade]

First of all: Congrats!

Second of all: Did you run into any DO's interviewing with you on your interview days?

Please let me know. Thanks!

 

[majestic red]

What do you think was the most important piece of your residency application? Research, Step scores, essay, something else?

Step 1 is probably the most important, since many programs have cut-offs where they will not consider applicants with scores below a certain threshold. However, once you're above that threshold, I'm not sure that having a higher score really provides any additional benefit. Other than that, I think having well-known and well-connected faculty members to support you can be a huge advantage-- I not only got great letters from these mentors, but had them make phone calls on behalf. Of course, having faculty support will not make up for poor Step scores or poor clinical evaluations, but when everyone is so competitive, it helps to set you apart from other applicants.

 

[majestic red]

This is so sexy. Finally a Kinsey 1 of my caliber! Can I get yo digits, baby girl/boy? (All the way down to the MCPs)

Unfortunately, my digits are already are spoken for-- happily married! 😉

 

[pbrocks15]

When did you get married?
How did the marriage affect your schooling?

 

[majestic red]

First of all: Congrats!

Second of all: Did you run into any DO's interviewing with you on your interview days?

Please let me know. Thanks!

Thanks! I ran into exactly 1 DO student on my interview trail-- it was at a brand new program, and she had done an away rotation at this particular institution. This was the only place that I saw her, and I'm not sure whether she matched. On the other hand, there were actually a few FMGs who matched into competitive positions this year-- the 2 that I met on rotations/on the interview trail were both from UK medical schools.

 

[majestic red]

When did you get married?
How did the marriage affect your schooling?

I got married during my research year, although the end of 4th year is also a popular time for people to get married-- have several classmates who are doing it now. My husband and I met in college, and he followed me when I got into medical school. He works outside medicine and has been extremely supportive and flexible about all the craziness that is medical training. For me, it nice having someone outside of medicine to go home to-- it makes you feel a little bit more like a normal person.

 

[pbrocks15]

Was your residency match in your current area or will you have to move?

 

[MalachiteGreen]

Did you find that you had time for research while med school was in session or that it was more productive to focus during summers and your research year? Thanks again!

 

[majestic red]

Was your residency match in your current area or will you have to move?

I'll be moving. The city that my program is in is about a 9-hour drive from where I currently live.

 

[majestic red]

Did you find that you had time for research while med school was in session or that it was more productive to focus during summers and your research year? Thanks again!

It's definitely possible to do productive research during 1st and 2nd year. 3rd year is more difficult because you'll be so busy, but I have friends who managed to do it (mostly during the lighter rotations). Most schools will allow you to take dedicated research time during 4th year, but by that point, it'll probably be too late to count much toward your residency applications.

 

[iforget2]

How much free time did you have left after doing research and studying for class? I'm in undergrad doing research and taking class and I already can't seem to find that much free time 🙁

 

[okokok]

I got married during my research year, although the end of 4th year is also a popular time for people to get married-- have several classmates who are doing it now. My husband and I met in college and followed me when I got into medical school. He works outside medicine and has been extremely supportive and flexible about all the craziness that is medical training. For me, it nice having someone outside of medicine to go home to-- it makes you feel a little bit more like a normal person.

What does your husband do for work? Are you concerned about how much time you'll be away from him during residency? Have you guys actively talked about that/tried to prepare for that?

 

[NavyDoc23]

Do you think doing just a summer of research (between 1st and 2nd year) would be enough to be a competitive applicant in a competitive specialty like plastic surgery (assuming everything else is adequate)?

 

[Xenoblade]

Thanks! I ran into exactly 1 DO student on my interview trail-- it was at a brand new program, and she had done an away rotation at this particular institution. This was the only place that I saw her, and I'm not sure whether she matched. On the other hand, there were actually a few FMGs who matched into competitive positions this year-- the 2 that I met on rotations/on the interview trail were both from UK medical schools.

I am for real frustrated.

I don't want to go into DO and be treated like a second class citizen when it comes for residency. UGH!!!!!!!!!!

 

[majestic red]

How much free time did you have left after doing research and studying for class? I'm in undergrad doing research and taking class and I already can't seem to find that much free time 🙁

I think the key is to figure out how to study efficienctly. During my preclinical, all of the lectures were recorded and I usually watched them at 1.5-2x speed at home. I also learned pretty early on that I don't learn well from reading text books (and am a slow reader to boot), so I actually focused more an re-watching lectures on reviewing my notes before exams. If you study efficiently, I think there is definitely time for research AND fun in the preclinical years. Also remember that all the random ECs that you have to do to get into med school are no longer required, so you don't have to waste time doing things you don't enjoy in terms of volunteering and student groups (obviously there are still opportunities to do these things if do enjoy them). Also, it depends on what type of research you do. Bench research tends to be more time-consuming than clinical research.

 

[majestic red]

What does your husband do for work? Are you concerned about how much time you'll be away from him during residency? Have you guys actively talked about that/tried to prepare for that?

My husband works an office job. I was very clear with him from the very beginning that I'll be extremely busy during my training, and he accepts that. During my hardest months in 3rd year, I always tried my best to at least sit down and eat (a late) dinner with him every day. He has been extremely supportive and knows what he's in for.

 

[majestic red]

Do you think doing just a summer of research (between 1st and 2nd year) would be enough to be a competitive applicant in a competitive specialty like plastic surgery (assuming everything else is adequate)?

My feeling is that most applicants did research throughout medical school and not just in the summer between 1st and 2nd year. A summer isn't very long, and a summer of work is often not sufficient to get a publication out. If you don't plan to spend a dedicated research year, I would definitely recommend working on research during MS1 and MS2.