Can anyone comment on the competitiveness of getting a plastics fellowship after 3 years of general surgery residency? Is a research year during residency virtually required in order to go this route, or is it fairly easy to obtain a spot somewhere? I know that I won't be competitive for a plastics spot right out of med school, so I'd like to take advantage of the fact that plastics is the only surgical subspecialty that doesn't require a full 5 year general surgery residency. Also, should I be applying for a categorical or a prelim surgery position if I know that I want to leave after three years? Finally, what are your impressions of the plastic surgeon's hours as compared to other surgical fields? Thanks in advance.
Questions about plastics
- Thread starter FLK
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FLK,
at this point in time, I would not expect you to be able to obtain a fellowship in plastic surgery with anything less than 5 years general surgery. The overall match rate for this past months match was 63% (the lowest ever) with 93 of the 105 spots filled by PGY-5 or PGY-5+ <img border="0" title="" alt="[Eek!]" src="eek.gif" /> surgery applicants (the other 12 spots were filled by some assortments ENT, Ortho, Neurosurg, GU, and PGY 3 or 4 surgery residents). This trend will probably continue and even further contract the # of oppurtunities for those attempting to match after 3 or 4 years. The # of those type candidates matching since 1997 has gone from 47 -> 40 -> 25 ->24 ->19 -> 12. Of that 12, I suspect most did 1-3 years in the lab & some may have also done some fellowship prior to applying in Hand or micro.
Work hours vary wildly among individuals, but I would guess that 60-70 hrs/week is pretty common and does not differ that much from general surgery except for the call. You tend to get fewer pages b/c most of the inpatient population is usually admitted to someone else.
at this point in time, I would not expect you to be able to obtain a fellowship in plastic surgery with anything less than 5 years general surgery. The overall match rate for this past months match was 63% (the lowest ever) with 93 of the 105 spots filled by PGY-5 or PGY-5+ <img border="0" title="" alt="[Eek!]" src="eek.gif" /> surgery applicants (the other 12 spots were filled by some assortments ENT, Ortho, Neurosurg, GU, and PGY 3 or 4 surgery residents). This trend will probably continue and even further contract the # of oppurtunities for those attempting to match after 3 or 4 years. The # of those type candidates matching since 1997 has gone from 47 -> 40 -> 25 ->24 ->19 -> 12. Of that 12, I suspect most did 1-3 years in the lab & some may have also done some fellowship prior to applying in Hand or micro.
Work hours vary wildly among individuals, but I would guess that 60-70 hrs/week is pretty common and does not differ that much from general surgery except for the call. You tend to get fewer pages b/c most of the inpatient population is usually admitted to someone else.
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<a href="http://www.sfmatch.org" target="_blank">www.sfmatch.org</a> is the site with info re. the traditional plastic surgery match
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