Baylor Plastic Surgery Residency

[FuturePRS]

Hi everyone,

I just want to know people's thoughts out there, maybe the Baylor locals would give us a better picture. So the word is the PRS program at Baylor may be put on probation for resident workload. Apparently there has also been a trend for the program trying to emulate the UTSW "malignant" style, although I have heard many mixed opinions. Any thoughts on this one????

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[maxheadroom]

I would be careful about "rumors" that are propagated in the Plastics Applicants community. It is not unheard of for applicants to plant rumors and quietly trash their top programs in order to scare off other applicants.

Did you hear that Northwestern is about to go on probation? Dumanian beats the residents with dirty sticks and never lets them go home. #JustSayin'

Don't trust any of that crap.

 

[FuturePRS]

Thanks for the reply, I tend not to go by rumors either considering the competitive environment. I will definetely keep that in mind. It would be nice to hear the residency experience at Baylor from somebody that is familiar with it given its such a renowned program.

 

[surgonco]

I don't attend Baylor but I am very familiar with their plastics program (could explain more but if I do I am sure somebody will figure out who I am). It seems to be extremely malignant, UTSW-like. In fact, I have hear as well that they are going to be placed on probation since their duty hour violations are evidnet. Their didactics are at 6:30 AM every day so chiefs start rounds as early as 4:30 AM and they expect lists, etc to be ready.

They do have a good training experience but residents are overworked and treated like slaves. Beware of the Baylor

 

[mosfet]

Well well well......looks like we are on to something here about Baylor....

 

[berkeleyboy]

I don't attend Baylor but I am very familiar with their plastics program (could explain more but if I do I am sure somebody will figure out who I am). It seems to be extremely malignant, UTSW-like. In fact, I have hear as well that they are going to be placed on probation since their duty hour violations are evidnet. Their didactics are at 6:30 AM every day so chiefs start rounds as early as 4:30 AM and they expect lists, etc to be ready.

They do have a good training experience but residents are overworked and treated like slaves. Beware of the Baylor

A significant number of my staff trained at Baylor for PRS training and they are some of the most competent, skilled, and fearless plastic surgeons I have worked with. While their training has been considered "malignant" they also feel that they've experienced and done so much that they aren't scared to do anything and have seen it all.

 

[100101100]

Interesting but pretty sure this isn't true. I did an away at Baylor in a different subspecialty and also did a prelim there recently. Like all Baylor surgery programs, it is an incredibly busy program (this happens in a medical center such as the one in Houston with two level 1 trauma centers, the largest VA hospital, a level 1 pediatric hospital, two private hospitals, and a huge cancer center which the Baylor residents cover all of except one of the two adult level 1 trauma centers) with lots of operating at the expense of long hours, but I was never aware of any problems with work hour violations. My friends there certainly aren't aware of any upcoming probation or problems. Call is q7 home call with the entire chief year spent as backup call. The faculty seemed demanding but I never sensed there was any ill will or malignancy. They, like utsw, hold their residents accountable for a certain base of knowledge but I don't see what is malignant about that. I was told that the program is expanding in terms of primary faculty, but I would assume that to be a good thing. The micro experience there is supposedly second to none, but I never saw anything firsthand to back that up. Also, other than hand fellows, I don't think there are fellows to take cases - the residents operate.

 

[HighSMAS]

To the original poster FuturePRS:

I can put this rumor to rest. We are not in danger of any probation. We definitely work hard here, but we are not in violation of the duty hours. We were just approved for 5 years, so that's not even an issue.

I don't know what your personal definition of "malignant" is, so I can't answer that kind of subjective question. If, by malignant, you mean a place that is an emotional beat down, where politics triumphs over performance, then I can give you a big Texas HECK NO to that. If you mean that we have to work a ton and call sucks because you are responsible for like 6 hospitals and you're doing alot all night, then the answer is yes.

The bottom line for most people is that you need to try and get into a program, then sort out the details later. If you have 260, AOA, publications, and all of that, then you are a minority even in this competitive applicant pool, and if that's the case, then you can pick and choose. If you can pick and choose, then I would just say if you want to "be all you can be", then Baylor is the place for you. If you want to have more of a life during residency and don't want to make plastic surgery the sole focus of the next 6 years of your life, then you would be happier in another program.

 

[HighSMAS]

I don't attend Baylor but I am very familiar with their plastics program (could explain more but if I do I am sure somebody will figure out who I am). It seems to be extremely malignant, UTSW-like. In fact, I have hear as well that they are going to be placed on probation since their duty hour violations are evidnet. Their didactics are at 6:30 AM every day so chiefs start rounds as early as 4:30 AM and they expect lists, etc to be ready.

They do have a good training experience but residents are overworked and treated like slaves. Beware of the Baylor

Being treated like a slave in surgical training means that you are doing alot of BS paperwork and scut, and then in-turn not getting the opportunity to operate and make decisions. This is most definitely NOT the case here at Baylor. Obviously our staff has high expectations, but then they also let us do a ton. It's somewhat old school.

 

[PlastikeInfo]

Unfortunately, many people confuse a good life as an attending for a good life as a resident. For most PRS programs you will work hard, even at the ones regarded as "gentleman" programs. Occasionally you will be "dressed down" by an attending, work over hours, and find yourself on rotations that feel more like service than education. This is particularly true at most PRS programs where gensurg runs the show in the first several years and the plastics residents are cheap labor. 90% of general surgery will be a waste of time and you will be miserable, but I digress. Point being, if happiness during residency is of vital importance then Plastics overall may not be the best decision because it can get tough. If you just want to be treated decently then you only need to avoid a handful of programs which are quite well known. There are also a couple of programs that offer both great training and a solid lifestyle during plastic surgery years, IMHO.

BTW, I have some friends that matched into Baylor and went to medical school there. Word was they worked over hours but the training was great.