How can I increase my chances of matching with plastic surgery in med school ?

I'm a first-year medical student who aspires to become a plastic/cosmetic surgeon.

What can be done now to increase my chances of outcompeting the competition in 6 years time? I have heard research and work experience are vital, but how would I get access to this at my current stage?

Do seniors hiring care about whether I was a member of the cosmetic surgery society? What else can I do to make me stand out ?

Thank you

Thank you !

"Matching" is not a thing in the UK. You'll need to do the foundation programme, then core surgical training and only then will you apply for specialty training in plastics (if that's what you end up doing - I don't think I know a single person who is doing what they thought they wanted to do in 1st year).

Reply 3

Chwirkytheappleboy

Original post by girl_in_black

I agree with this entirely.

Huge numbers of people start medical school thinking they’re going to be a surgeon, but of course they’ve never actually done the job so their aspirations are largely based on what they consider to be glamorous after watching some Grey’s Anatomy.

Get through medical school first and you’ll probably find you don’t want to be a surgeon anyway. If, in the latter years of medical school you’re still interested in surgery you could try getting in touch with some plastic surgeons and trying to help them with some data collection for their research - it might get you named on a paper or two, which might help a bit in CT/ST applications.

If you look at the current portfolio scoring system for Core Surgical Training (which determines whether you get an interview), you’ll see all the various activities/achievements that can increase your score: https://coresurgicalprep.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/2022-Core-Surgical-Training-Self-Assessment-Scoring-Guidance-for-Candidates.pdf

Of course, it’s entirely possible and in fact likely that by the time you apply, the scoring system (or even the whole training system) may have been changed, so don’t stick rigidly to what’s in that document, However, it does give a good general indication as to the kind of domains that are important when applying for specialty training. A lot of the stuff is fairly generic (i.e. prizes, high grades, research, presentations, teaching, QI) and doesn’t necessarily need to be surgery-focussed; the other specialties have similar scoring systems so getting many of these things will help you in whatever specialty you eventually choose.

Ultimately though, in your first year, truly the best thing you can do right now is to study hard and try and get the best marks possible. Get some clinical experience and don’t be surprised if you look back in 10 years time and wonder why you ever thought you wanted to be McSteamy