Integrated Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Residency: How Significant Research Involvement Serves to Distinguish Applicants

Training positions in integrated plastic surgery residency programs have become exceedingly competitive with the increasing disparity between the number of applicants and residency positions available. Data recently published by the National Resident Matching Program for the 2021 Match cycle demonstrated a record number of M.D. seniors applying for limited residency spots nationally. Among the 329 total applicants vying for a residency position, 187 matched into an integrated plastic surgery residency, representing a record low yield rate of 56.8 percent.1 Although numerical evaluations such as United States Medical Licensing Examination Step scores and clerkship grades are observed to be among the most important objective measures for residency selection, they more commonly serve as a screening tool for residency programs.2 We believe extensive research involvement, however, can serve to help the residency applicant better stand out among an already exceptional pool of medical students, particularly following this application cycle. In fact, now more than ever, applicants should consider pursuing research fellowships to delve further into the extensive and ever-changing field of plastic and reconstructive surgery. Research involvement has been shown to be an integral component of a plastic surgery residency application. Claiborne et al. reported that match outcomes significantly correlated with both the number of research experiences and the number of projects entirely finished.3 Research involvement offers residency programs the ability to observe an applicant’s commitment to plastic surgery.4 It further demonstrates that medical students more heavily involved in research may have a greater inclination toward pursuit of an academic career in the field—an inclination that is more commonly sought after, particularly at higher tier academic institutions. Although it has been shown that integrated plastic surgery residency applicants more frequently undergo research years for the purposes of improving their resumes, nearly 40 percent of students engage in research fellowships out of general interest.5 Research fellowships undertaken before residency have been minimally assessed for their value within the plastic and reconstructive surgery arena. However, 97 percent of plastic surgery applicants who completed a research fellowship, compared to 81 percent of those who did not (p < 0.05), matched into an integrated plastic surgery residency as reported by Mehta et al. in their national survey from 2013 to 2016.5 Although undergoing a research fellowship demonstrates a compelling commitment to plastic surgery, it provides the applicant with the ability to make meaningful connections within a small community.4 Importantly, subjective measures such as letters of recommendation play a vital role in selection criteria for residency positions.2 These experiences provide students the ability to network, which ultimately can result in strong letters of recommendations from dominant plastic surgeons within the field. In addition, over 20 percent of research fellows match at the institution where they completed their research fellowship, which represents an appreciable proportion of applicants.5 Thus, the value of residency fellowships goes beyond objective metrics and commitment, but also serves to benefit plastic surgery applicants through the subjective measures of the application process. It is for these reasons that greater research involvement deserves critical attention, particularly moving forward in the increasingly competitive field of plastic and reconstructive surgery. DISCLOSURE The authors have no financial interest to declare in relation to the content of this article. No funding was received for this work. Rami P. Dibbs, B.A.Abel Smerica, M.D.Andrew M. Ferry, B.S.Edward M. Reece, M.D., M.B.A.Division of Plastic SurgeryMichael E. DeBakey Department of SurgeryBaylor College of Medicine, and Division of Plastic SurgeryTexas Children’s HospitalHouston, Texas Carrie K. Chu, M.D., M.S.Department of Plastic SurgeryM. D. Anderson Cancer CenterHouston, Texas Joshua Vorstenbosch, M.D., Ph.D.Division of Plastic SurgeryMcGill UniversityMontreal, Quebec, Canada Sebastian Winocour, M.D., M.Sc.Division of Plastic SurgeryMichael E. DeBakey Department of SurgeryBaylor College of MedicineHouston, Texas