Getting into an integrated plastics program?

[cloudyroom]

Hi everyone-

i am a 2nd year student and i've wanted to do plastic surgery since before i came to medical school. since 1st year i have been doing a lot of plastics research and I've been quite involved @ school. my research has been published (PRS and forthcoming in Annals of Plastic Surg) and presented @ plastics conferences (ASPS).

With a solid board score (230+) and good 3rd year grades would i be a competitive candidate for these programs?

What are these programs ideally looking for from a prospective medical student?

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[ms697]

As a current applicant,

I think you are well on the right track. I did not find myself involved with plastics research until my 3rd year, so I would encourage you to keep up the interest and to develop connections with both your home attendings and with attendings that you meet at the plastics meetings.
Regarding scores/grades, this topic has been brought up a lot on this board or on http://www.plasticseducation.com. Shoot for a high board score and 3rd year honors in surgery/medicine but realize that programs are looking for a diverse bunch of people ranging from step I: 210-270+ and honors: 0-20. Bottom line: there is no ideal candidate.
Important thing is that programs want people who have shown a developing/strong interest in the field, judged by their med school activities, and want people who are personable, well-rounded, and fun to work with.

Hope this helps. Peace.

 

[cloudyroom]

Big Ups mate.

the info really helped.

do you have any insight into Step I? my current plan is to just lock down 1st aid and do all the qbank questions...

 

[ms697]

Big Ups mate.

the info really helped.

do you have any insight into Step I? my current plan is to just lock down 1st aid and do all the qbank questions...

it's been a while, but I recall using FA, Qbank, and the High Yield series of books. Pathophys for boards and wards was a great supplement as well. Key is doing questions early, learning your weak points, and working on them.

 

[Plastikos]

Big Ups mate.

the info really helped.

do you have any insight into Step I? my current plan is to just lock down 1st aid and do all the qbank questions...

I didnt use FA very much, way too superficial. Used it at the end and for pharm and some of its useful parts. Questions are key, do as many as possible, but only quality sources like qbank, nbme. Other than that BRS path/physio, robbins q book is excellent, also used a lot of high yield books.

 

[jdubya]

If you focus on first aid and qbank you will miss alot if information. Your goal, I presume, is to be well above average, but what you described doing is an average amount of preparation. As it says on the back of first aid :"secret weapon used by over 216000 students" Really, a secret? If you want to do better than most you have to do more than most. keep plugging and no matter how miserable these next 6 months are, the prize is worth it.
current pgy-1