Hello,
I think what Dr. Oliver was getting at with his comment is that potential PRS students who disdain GS so much generally will not like the mundane aspects of any residency program.
I just dont buy it. Why do I have to be gung-ho about GS to be able to love plastics or any other specialty? And who actually DOES like the mundane aspects of their residency? You cant get your jollies off of every single facet of your chosen career path --just not realistic.
Believe me, there are a lot of unpleasant aspects of PRS residency as well. Somehow that sacral decub that has been sitting on the floor for 8 months becomes an emergency consult at 8pm on Friday night for urgent transfer to your service.
Still, I would rather deal with the ulcer than seeing: an appy, gall-bladder, splenectomy, hernia, SBO, etc at 8pm on friday. In fact, I would be up for dealing with the decub at 8PM, then following in the same OR with a replant, facial trauma, hand case, or burn, etc. PRS is awesome...pain in the ***** cases/schedules arent near as a painful when you like the pathology and are fulfilled in the work you do.
You may or may not have that attitude but Oliver and others on this board went through the residency gauntlet and have seen a lot of students come and go.
I would agree with him that the disdain you show for general surgery in your post would be a red flag to me if I were interviewing you. I have seen students match into integrated programs with that attitude and unfortunately be miserable as hell in plastic surgery as well. Again, you may not fit that mold but I am going by what I read in your original post.
I have to disagree. URO and ENT resdients have to deal with a year of general surgery before really starting their specialty. I dont think you'd find many that would say they were pumped to be on the general service and I seriously doubt any would sign up for another year, given the option. In fact many URO residencies nationally are actually SHORTENING the GS requirement from 2 to 1. Plenty of uro and ent residents that dont much care for general surgery go on to throughly enjoy uro/ent after intern year, and dare I say, some may even enjoy a "bad" day in uro/ent over a "good" day in general surgery --why is it so wrong to feel the same way in plastics? I just dont get where the red flags come in --I am interested in plastic surgery: the variety, pathology, techniques, outcomes, advances and research all give me a mental erection. General surgery, while it has its moments, does not even come close to driving me like that. And I honestly dont understand why that is an issue or a red flag.
I know that many plastic surgeons got their foot in the door through the GS route. Say you were into plastics and had to slog through GS --or even if you werent originally, say GS was your baby --but somehow somewhere you became interested in PRS during GS residency and then had to apply to the competitive independent programs. I can see where you would be a bit offended that someone who wants to attain your endpoint (PRS) using a different, shorter, more direct route (ie integrated spot). But that doesnt give you the perspective to say that my attitude isn't fit for PRS, or surgery in general.
Not everything in life works out like we want it to. Most of the PRS applicants have suffered little failure in their lives and not matching is the first. It can be devastating. How the person gets back up and keeps going determines the course of the rest of life. Good luck.
I understand this. Personally, I've fallen off the hoarse a few times in my life and as a non-trad student, so if (god forbid) I dont match, I will recover. My original post though was trying to stimulate discussion amongst the potentials/vets that got in unconventionally about the diversity of backup options available.
