Exposure to plastic surgery during undergraduate medical training: A single-institution review

BACKGROUND: Applications to surgical residency programs have declined over the past decade. Even highly competitive programs, such as plastic surgery, have begun to witness these effects. Studies have shown that early surgical exposure has a positive influence on career selection. OBJECTIVE: To review plastic surgery application trends across Canada, and to further investigate medical student exposure to plastic surgery. METHODS: To examine plastic surgery application trends, national data from the Canadian Resident Matching Service database were analyzed, comparing 2002 to 2007 with 2008 to 2013. To evaluate plastic surgery exposure, a survey of all undergraduate medical students at the University of Toronto (Toronto, Ontario) during the 2012/2013 academic year was conducted. RESULTS : Comparing 2002 to 2007 and 2008 to 2013, the average number of national plastic surgery training positions nearly doubled, while first-choice applicants decreased by 15.3%. The majority of Canadian academic institutions experienced a decrease in first-choice applicants; 84.7% of survey respondents indicated they had no exposure to plastic surgery during their medical education. Furthermore, 89.7% believed their education had not provided a basic understanding of issues commonly managed by plastic surgeons. The majority of students indicated they receive significantly less plastic surgery teaching than all other surgical subspecialties. More than 44% of students not considering plastic surgery as a career indicated they may be more likely to with increased exposure. CONCLUSION: If there is a desire to grow the specialty through future generations, recruiting tactics to foster greater interest in plastic surgery must be altered. The present study suggests increased and earlier exposure for medical students is a potential solution.