A general quetion

[PlasticInterest]

I am interested in doing either an integrated or combined plastics program. I am actually just applying to med school after taking a few years off and I was wondering if anyone could give me both general advice and also advice on which schools to apply to in order to increase my chances of getting in one of the programs down the road. Any help would be highly appreciated.

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[navysurgeon]

my advice, to maximize your chances of matching in plastics would be...

1. get into an allopathic med school
2. do very well through-out med school (ie honors in all basic science courses, and honors in all major clinical rotations)
3. get elected into AOA
4. get a 230 or above on your Step I
5. meet with the plastic surgeons early in your first year and declare your interest, attend their department rounds regularly, and participate in a clinical research project
6. get letters of rec from the chair or surgery at you med school, a medical mentor (does not matter what kind of doc) that knows you very well, and a plastic surgeon from your institution, preferably to chief of plastics
7. buy yourself a good suit and spend some $$ on shoes
8. practice interviewing, when the time comes for it

TNS

 

[PlasticInterest]

Do you have any recommendations for which of the allopathic schools? I just got a 36 on my mcat so I'm trying to plan my list of schools.

 

[Celiac Plexus]

Do you have any recommendations for which of the allopathic schools? I just got a 36 on my mcat so I'm trying to plan my list of schools.

how about considering med schools with plastics residencies? that would presumably give you more burn as far as connections and insight go when it's time to apply for residency.

 

[GSresident]

36 is pretty good. That definately isn't a score that will make you a shoe in for some of the best medical schools. A lot of getting into some of those schools depends on stuff that has nothing to do with your academic abilities. I had a 42 and just squeeked into Northwestern. That was about the average score for my class that year so I was nothing special. Where you did your undergrad is important, where you grew up is important, how you spent your free time is important and certainly what you did in your time between college and medical school is important. If you are interested in going to a medical school that has a 'big name' then look at the US News and World Report rankings and apply to those schools. Sometimes schools that don't even make that list have excellent track records of matching people into plastic surgery. UT-Galveston has an amazing track record, almost unbelievable, of producing plastic surgeons. I have heard that Rochester in NY has the same kind of track record. If I were applying all over again I would definately apply to those two schools and to schools that have plastic surgery departments. Northwestern has a great department and it is a lot of fun to live in downtown Chicago. You should definately check it out.

 

[marcy10]

36 is pretty good. That definately isn't a score that will make you a shoe in for some of the best medical schools. A lot of getting into some of those schools depends on stuff that has nothing to do with your academic abilities. I had a 42 and just squeeked into Northwestern. That was about the average score for my class that year so I was nothing special. Where you did your undergrad is important, where you grew up is important, how you spent your free time is important and certainly what you did in your time between college and medical school is important. If you are interested in going to a medical school that has a 'big name' then look at the US News and World Report rankings and apply to those schools. Sometimes schools that don't even make that list have excellent track records of matching people into plastic surgery. UT-Galveston has an amazing track record, almost unbelievable, of producing plastic surgeons. I have heard that Rochester in NY has the same kind of track record. If I were applying all over again I would definately apply to those two schools and to schools that have plastic surgery departments. Northwestern has a great department and it is a lot of fun to live in downtown Chicago. You should definately check it out.

42 was the average for your class at Northwestern? uh...wow or slight hyperbole?

 

[navysurgeon]

I think there are other considerations besides numbers, scores...etc..

Med school is 4 years...it sucks, basically. I had a lot of fun, but basically I studied and partied like i did in college...my point is that you should go to a med school in a city you'd be happy to spend four years in...Omaha NE would suck...Dallas TX would suck...now, DC was a fun 4 years.

Consider the cost of tuition...this might not be a factor for you, but maybe it is...being in debt sucks.

I think the med schools affiliated with major academic medical centers will do a better job prepping you for a competetive match like plastics...who are the major centers? google 'NIH health care research grant' and a number of major players will pop up...the usual..

Wash U
U.W.
UCSF
UT Southwestern
Michigan
UCLA
UCSD
Duke
NYU
Harvard

all of these med schools habe strong plastics training programs of some sort.

you probably know all this **** already...

 

[GSresident]

42 was the average for your class at Northwestern? uh...wow or slight hyperbole?

It might have been more like the high 30's. My point is, I was nothing special in my class. At least half of the people had higher scores than I did, a higher GPA than I did and came from more interesting backgrounds than I did. There were people with amazing stories from all over the world. One person was an ex-producer for dateline. Another escaped being chopped up by machetes in Ruwanda. There were two people who had served in combat in the Isreali army, one as a tank commander, another as a foot soldier. Everyone had something crazy and amazing in their background. Almost everyone came from prep school backgrounds and Ivy covered undergrad schools. I was just an ignorant white boy from rural Iowa. Being around people like that did wonders for me and it was worth every penny (40K per year tuition alone). My point is, you have to bring a lot more to the table than good MCAT scores to go to a place like that. I just barely squeeked in and it was the luckiest thing that ever happened to me, besides matching into a plastic surgery fellowship.

 

[Surgeonizer]

Michigan has one of the strongest academic plastic surgery programs in the country. The majority of individuals on the plastics2002.com forum rank it among the very best in the US.

 

[mcindoe]

Michigan has one of the strongest academic plastic surgery programs in the country. The majority of individuals on the plastics2002.com forum rank it among the very best in the US.

You forgot to disclose that you happen to go to school there. That's a conflict of interest that may bias your assertion about it having "one of the strongest academic plastics surgery programs in the country". And since plastics2002.com is completely anonymous, every post that extolls Michigan's program could be written by the same person for all we know. Thus it's a completely unreliable source.

 

[maxheadroom]

I didn't go to school at Michigan and I'm not a resident there. I know several of the Michigan residents and a couple of the faculty. I've interacted with Kuzon several times. I've met Buchman and Cederna. I interviewed at Michigan and was blown away by their program. Excellent training. Very good exposure to both academic stuff and real world plastics (they work with a private group in town, also). The only drawback is that they do six months of their 4th year as Trauma/Burns/Emergency Chief. In return, they get more time on Plastics in their 2nd and 3rd years. I just didn't like the idea of being a Trauma Chief. No thanks. Except for that, it's an excellent program.