Plastic Surgery

Plastic Surgery

This online repository houses relevant resources and contact information for students seeking career advice. We encourage you to review the career-related materials provided (e.g. Specialty Webinar, Interview Questions, Research, etc.) as you seek support in your journey through medical school.

If you have further questions that are not addressed on this page, please feel free to contact a Specialty Faculty Mentor for further guidance.

Match Preparation and Charting Outcomes Heading link

You are more than your Step Scores! Use the NRMP page to look at the qualifications of applicants who have successfully applied to your specialty.

Should applicants do away rotations?

  • In the past, away (audition and subinternship) rotations have been an integral part of the plastic surgery student education process. In the 2020-2021 academic year, all visiting rotations were discontinued except in limited circumstances because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The availability of away rotations in 2021-2022 academic cycle will likely be limited as well. All away rotations are arranged through the VSAS system.
  • In lieu of away rotations, the Plastic Surgery Program Directors created a combination of “Virtual Sub Internships” and a series of “Meet & Greet” sessions that will likely continue, even if there are some visiting rotations. Students interested in joining in on the Meet & Greet sessions will be able to get information about the sessions starting in June from the American Council of Academic Plastic Surgeons website under student resources tab at this link: acaplasticsurgeons.org

Research

  • A completed research project is recommended – to intellectual curiosity and that a project can be completed. If you have well-developed research productivity in an area other than plastic surgery, you need not develop another expertise. You may wish to get involved with clinical research and case reports in plastic surgery to get more familiar with the plastic surgery literature.
  • Those, who do not have research productivity or whose academic portfolio needs to be filled out, may choose to do a dedicated year of research in the plastic surgery sphere. It is difficult to answer whether or not to take a year off for research. If you choose to – position the year off between third and fourth year – not after a missed residency match or needing to withdraw from the match. Those who wait until fourth year to do a research year will need to take 2 years of research time to make it pay off. At that point, total post graduate time (2 years research + 6 years residency) is the same as a 5 year surgical residency + 3 year residency.
  • Research opportunities start being listed in late Fall for the coming year starting in June typically and can be found on the ACAPS website under jobs board tab.

For further guidance, contact our specialty faculty liaison:

Franklin Lew, MD
flew@uic.edu

Julia Corcoran, MD, MHPE, FACS, FAAP
 jcorco1@uic.edu

or contact coordinator
Lynette Montalto, Coordinator
lynette@uic.edu

Helpful Resources Heading link

  1. The NRMP publishes a survey of Applicants each year. This report presents the results of selected items from the 2022 NRMP Applicant Survey. The report documents factors that applicants weigh in selecting programs (1) at which to interview and (2) to rank in the Main Residency Match. It can be found HERE.
  2. The NRMP Publishes a survey of Residency Program Directors. This report examines the factors program directors use to select applicants to interview and rank. Data are reported for 22 specialties and the transitional year in the Main Residency Match. It can be found HERE.
  3. Looking for residency programs?  The AAMC interactive, Careers in Medicine Website is where you should be! LINK
  4. Having difficulty deciphering this information?  Contact your Student Affairs Career Advisor on your campus!!!

Below you will find resources to help you get started when applying for residency.