Undergraduate plastic surgery: Is extracurricular education enough?

Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery (2010) 63, e133

CORRESPONDENCE AND COMMUNICATION

Undergraduate plastic surgery: Isextracurricular education enough?

Dear Professor Burd,

There has been much discussion in the literature regarding ifthere is a place for plastic surgery in the undergraduatecurriculum. As outlined by Wade et al.,1 many undergradu-ates are in favour of having plastic surgery teaching eventhough many may not necessarily want to pursue a career inthe Specialty. There are opportunities for those undergrad-uates interested in plastic surgery to pursue their interestwith awards for electives and original research from charitiessuch as the Healing Foundation but these rely on studentsalready having a relative understanding of plastic surgery.

The portrayal of plastic surgery in the media isfrequently that of purely elective cosmetic operations andthis is often the understanding that undergraduates have ofthe Specialty until they do further research and discoverthe main workload carried out by a plastic surgeon. Therehas recently been development of careers days designedfor undergraduates interested in plastic and reconstructivesurgery aiming to educate on the different subspecialtiesencompassed in the Specialty. A careers in plastic surgeryday has been held at the Royal College of Surgeons inLondon with talks from surgeons in different subspecialtiesand on careers in the profession, in addition to surgicalskills practical sessions under the supervision of trainees inthe profession. The second UPRAS (Undergraduate Plasticand Reconstructive Surgery) conference held at the RoyalSociety of Medicine in London was heavily oversubscribedand similarly to the Royal College of Surgeons, eventprovided many talks on different areas of plastic surgery aswell as an opportunity to learn and practice surgical skills.In addition there was the opportunity for students topresent cases and participate in a poster competition.Conferences such as these provide the ideal opportunity for

1748-6815/$-seefrontmatterª2009BritishAssociationofPlastic,Reconstrucdoi:10.1016/j.bjps.2009.03.005

undergraduates to discover more about what is covered inthe realm of plastic surgery and also gain valuable adviceregarding careers.

Although these conferences give students a good insightinto the Specialty, it is likely that students who attend areinterested in plastic surgery to begin with. This leavesa number of students who may potentially have an interestin plastic surgery, but have misconceptions of what a careerin the Specialty entails, preventing them from consideringcareers in the Specialty. Probably more significant is thepotential for many students to not fully comprehend whatthe role of a plastic surgeon is in the multidisciplinary teamand not know when and when not to refer to the plasticsurgeon.

Although some universities offer possibilities to pursuespecial study modules in the area of plastic surgery and theexistence of extracurricular conferences for undergradu-ates, consideration should still be given to educating allstudents on the role and responsibilities of the plasticsurgeon not only to enable them to consider pursuinga career in the Specialty, but also so they have awarenessof the role of plastic surgeons in order to provide continuityof care for patients by appropriate referrals and effectivemultidisciplinary communication.

Conflict of interest

None.

Reference

1. Wade RG, Moses MA, Henderson J. Teaching plastic surgery toundergraduates. J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg 2009 Feb;62:267.

Sharief AboelmagdUniveristy of East Anglia,

Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital,Norwich NR4 7UY, UK

E-mail address: shariefy@hotmail.co.uk

tiveandAestheticSurgeons.PublishedbyElsevierLtd.All rightsreserved.