Is art skill a prereq?

[illiniryan]

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I am an MSIII who is considering taking an elective in plastics to see if it would be a career I am interested in. Before I spend a month on this rotation, I just have a question. Is it necessary to have very good art talent to do plastics? I have never been able to draw anything well, although I am pretty good with my hands. I am more interested in the noncosmetic aspects of plastics, such as hand surgery. This may be a stupid question, but I thought I would ask. thanks!

 

[Plastikos]

Of course not. Thats a relatively new and more media like hyped thing, do you think they started fixing up soldiers after the WW's simply b/c they had art skills, no. They had vision, thats all.

 

[fedor]

I am an MSIII who is considering taking an elective in plastics to see if it would be a career I am interested in. Before I spend a month on this rotation, I just have a question. Is it necessary to have very good art talent to do plastics? I have never been able to draw anything well, although I am pretty good with my hands. I am more interested in the noncosmetic aspects of plastics, such as hand surgery. This may be a stupid question, but I thought I would ask. thanks!

If you mean art like Subway sandwich artist, you would be correct.

 

[DZT]

I think the the guys are partially right depending on what part of the body you are dealing with. Facial plastics is tricky and really requires a good eye for aesthetic form and features. I thik this can be developed and cultivated by drawing like crazy and studying faces. I'm doing facial plastics rotation right now and never realized before entering how many different proportions. angles of contour define the perfect facial structure. Body plastic surgery I would imagine should be a little more easier but really, I dont know. Maybe the plastics guys could fill us in.

 

[barakutha]

this is my exact concern with pursuing a career in plastics... i am currently a MIII and really love the field of plastics... my only problem is that i don't have an artistic bone in my body... is this something that you pickup throughout your training?

 

[toofache32]

Apparently it doesn't matter. Acceptance is based on grades and other achievements. There is no objective measurement of hand skills, hand-eye coordination, or perceptual ability as far as I know.

 

[Bifid Uvula]

Apparently it doesn't matter. Acceptance is based on grades and other achievements. There is no objective measurement of hand skills, hand-eye coordination, or perceptual ability as far as I know.

sure there is some art skill... just like when we are gonna make a neck incision.... they get to take one of those fancy purple markers and play connect the dots too.... right around the boobies 😎 Its kinda like abstract art.

 

[DrNick2006]

IM guy here, hate surgery, but seemed like an interesting thread, so i'll add my opinion. When you say do you need to have artistic skill, I don't really know what it means to have artistic skill, but i know what it means to be a skilled surgeon, and thats what matters, and that is what you learn during training. Anyone could repaint a mona lisa if you spent 90 hours a week for five years (or seven, how long is plastics residency anyway?) training to do it, don't ya think? Art isn't the skill, its the inspiration, and who knows hos much of that you need, but I think that most people can appreciate how a face is supposed to look, after all its hard-wired into our brains. just my opinion.

 

[toofache32]

... for five years (or seven, how long is plastics residency anyway?) ...

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