CAREER IN PLASTIC SURGERY
A GUIDE FOR MEDICAL STUDENTS
UNDERGRADUATE
Intercurricular
This section includes the activites and courses that should be done as an undergraduate during your medical school years (inter-curricular) and the next section will cover medical related activities that you should sign up for outside of medical school (extra-curricular). Needless to say, prioritise your current academic work and do not forget about your exams and deadlines whilst focussing on developing your CV. It is advised to concentrate on developing your CV as early as possible. (1)
Intercurricular activities
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Select surgical related "Special Study Units"
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Surgical placements
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Portfolio
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Logbook
Although the list may seem short, every little contribution counts and remember that everything should be recorded in your portfolio otherwise there is no proof of it happening! This is the scoring system that will be used in surgical training application.
To gain the maximum points available, an extra degree listed above will give you 1-2 points, exceptional performance may give you up to 4 points and a maximimum of 3 points for demonstrating clinical/procedure experience in both surgical and non-surgical (this is where your logbooks come into play!).
Special Study Units (SSU)
Many Universities have Student Selected Modules where you can choose your preferred area of medicine. For example, at PCMD, we have SSU's which are an essay writing component. There are several different types, including Medical Humanities, Biomedical Sciences and Management etc. In these student selected modules, it might be advisable to select modules that are related to surgery or Plastic Surgery in specific. For example, at PCMD, we have a SSU named "Plastic Surgery: Wound Healing" that we can choose in Years 1 & 2.
Surgical Placements
Other than attending all compulsory surgical placements, attending Doctors' teaches and meetings may be useful. The surgical teams are often very welcoming, and often give open invitation to students who are interested in observing surgeries. Watching as many surgeries as possible provides some familiarity with the different procedures and surgeons often enjoy giving anatomy teach to their eager watchers. Do not hesitate to volunteer to scrub in as you might be able to perform a simple suture!
Logbook
The use of logbooks are sometimes unpopular with students. However, the number of practical procedures or cases you have seen may be used in a short-listing protocol. Record as many patient encounters and procedures in your e-logbook or e-portfolio.
Portfolio
Start organising and collecting the appropriate documents and certificates for your portfolio early. The main points about portfolio are:
- Organisation: Place the paperwork in a sensible order with coloured dividers. It makes it looks professional and organised with "sections" in place - and don't forget to write a contents page!
- Record: Everything! Include recordings of procedures you performed, summary of patient encounters, feedback from teaches and certificates of attendance (from courses or teaches). More importantly, include print outs of audits, presentations and publications.
- Reflections: These include reflective essays such as portfolio analyses and any other reflections such as those on significant patient encounters, teaching, clinical events or private study sessions.
- Assessments: These includes professionalism judgements, competencies, medical knowlede tests and OSCE/ISCE results. (1)
