Lack of Plastics Exposure at Med School

[MakeItRain2007]

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Hi,

I am a First Year Med Student and interested in Plastics. I go to a school that does NOT has a plastics residency program and only one plastic surgeon (who just joined the department this month) in the Surgery Department. I hear that knowing people and getting exposure to the field are just as important as grades, AOA status and USLME scores.

Does anyone have advice on what I should be doing to hopefully match into an Integrated Program after finishing Med School, given the lack of Plastics exposure at my Med School?

I know away rotations are good during during your clinical years. But what about now - my first two years?

Thank you!

 

[plastikosmd]

my school did not have a plastic surgery program. i found a local surgeon attached to the level 1 trauma center that we rotated at, introduced myself-shadowed him 1/2 day a week on average (there is time you just have to find it) did that for about a year..then a core rotation with him for my first 'away elective' to get my skills up to par..then rotated at 2 other programs (it was 3 but one fell through) ended up matching at one of my rotating programs.

 

[MakeItRain2007]

thank you very much. that was very helpful.

 

[plastikosmd]

anytime...what i didnt tell you was it took me a while to find plastic surgery..so you may be off to a better start
1) first year....ortho research and shadow
2)second year neurosurg. research and shadow
3) third year..last few months...neurosurg chief introduced me to
plastic surgeon...it was all his doing...he said "this is your field" guy was
right.