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. 2022 Feb 22:22:e3.
eCollection 2022.

What Attributes Make United States Plastic Surgery Programs Desirable? Perspectives from Medical Students and Residents

Magnus Chun  1 , Alisa Girard  1 , Yichi Zhang  1 , Abigail Meyers  1 , Idean Roohani  1 , Tracey Cook  1 , Ping Song  1 , Abigail Chaffin  1
Affiliations

What Attributes Make United States Plastic Surgery Programs Desirable? Perspectives from Medical Students and Residents

Magnus Chun et al. Eplasty. .

Abstract

Background: Plastic surgery is a competitive specialty that attracts many qualified applicants. This study provides results of a survey conducted to identify the attributes that make integrated and independent plastic surgery residency programs in the United States most desirable. Medical students' preferences for virtual events during the 2020 to 2021 Match cycle were also investigated.

Methods: An anonymous 7-question survey was deployed to plastic surgery residency program directors to forward to medical students and current residents during the 2021 to 2022 National Resident Matching Program cycle. Demographics and ranking of program attributes were collected in the survey, and data analysis consisted of both qualitative and quantitative results.

Results: A total of 50 survey respondents from 28% of plastic surgery residency programs was received. The happiness and well-being of residents and training at their preferred geographical location were identified as the most desirable qualities of a program (P < 0.05). However, 82% of respondents opposed mandatory research (P = 0.002). There was a statistically significant larger proportion of students that highly valued faculty responsiveness to feedback over perceived program ranking (P < 0.05). In the context of COVID-19, virtual meet and greets, as well as resident happy hours, were rated most desirable (n = 35, 70%), followed by social media outreach (n = 23, 46%).

Conclusions: Resident happiness and well-being, followed by preferred geographical location, were the most favorable program attributes. Plastic surgery residency programs may seek to better integrate these preferences within their curricula, as well as showcase them on social media, to attract high-quality applicants and optimize the training experience for matched residents.

Keywords: attributes; plastic surgery; residency.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: The authors report no financial or other conflicts of interest. This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Seven-question survey sent to plastic surgery program directors.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Geographic distribution of respondent home medical schools (n = 50).
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Plastic surgery residency program qualities that influence medical students and residents when choosing a training program (n = 50). A larger positive value indicates a greater net desirable sentiment, whereas a larger negative value indicates a greater undesirable sentiment. Standard error bars are indicated.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Plastic surgery residency program qualities deemed “most desirable” (n = 50).
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
Preferences regarding COVID-19 programming offered by plastic surgery residency programs (n = 50).
FIGURE 6
FIGURE 6
Preferences regarding personal, social, and geographic factors of plastic surgery residency programs (n = 50). A larger positive value indicates a greater net desirable sentiment, whereas a larger negative value indicates a greater undesirable sentiment. Standard error bars are indicated.
FIGURE 7
FIGURE 7
Personal, social, and geographic factors of plastic surgery residency programs deemed “most desirable” (n = 50).
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