After finishing your residency and fellowship training, you are ready to practice plastic surgery; however, you have to meet additional requirements before you can become board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery, including:. While board certification is optional, it is an important step to take to distinguish yourself as an experienced provider who adheres to the highest standards for patient safety and ethical practice. In fact, because any licensed doctor can legally practice plastic surgery, even without completing a residency , certification by the American Board of Plastic Surgery is one of the minimum credentials patients should look for when choosing a plastic surgeon.
Dedicated plastic surgeons recognize that we owe it to our patients to stay abreast of the latest advancements in the field so we can continue to provide the highest quality care, safety, and results. Typically, board certified plastic surgeons will have been in practice for several additional years before they qualify to join ASAPS, which has the most stringent requirements.
Plastic surgery is a unique and demanding field of medicine. It is one of the few surgical specialties where you are certified to operate on anyone, at any age, on any part of the body.
Plastic surgeons must have a highly developed aesthetic eye, with the ability to adapt their techniques for patients of all shapes, sizes and proportions. Additionally, plastic surgeons need stamina. Even years into my career, I have long days filled with patient consultations, surgeries, meetings, and other requirements of running my own practice.
Still, I love my work and would not trade it for any other career. This certification signifies that you have completed a required set of training and education requirements beyond the minimum requirements for obtaining a license.
To acquire this certification, you must have a medical license and pass a written and oral examination. To maintain this certification, you must take an extensive continuous professional development program known as the ABMS Program.
This is one of the 24 specialty boards that the ABMS recognizes. To obtain this certification, you must complete the appropriate training and pass comprehensive oral and written examinations covering all plastic surgery procedures. Here are some of the frequently asked questions about plastic surgeons:. Plastic surgeons practice in a range of settings, including community and academic hospital settings, trauma wards, private practices, multi-specialty practices and outpatient clinics.
They usually perform surgery and other related tasks for more than 40 hours per week. As with all surgeries, plastic surgeons work with a team of assistants or other surgeons to complete an operation. Plastic surgeons may also be called on short notice to carry out emergency surgery. They usually work in well-lit, clean environments, such as a hospital's operating room.
They also work in medical schools to teach or train aspiring plastic surgeons. Some plastic surgeons prefer to practice in a private setting, as it provides them control and independence.
However, getting and retaining patients can be a laborious and time-consuming process. Also, the costs to maintain a private practice can be much higher compared to a group practice where costs are shared. To be successful in this role, aspiring plastic surgeons generally need the following qualities:. Manual dexterity, hand-eye coordination and attention to detail are a must for anyone performing medical procedures such as stitching wounds or severing blood vessels.
You should be able to remain calm and keep a very steady hand under pressure. Because plastic surgeons work with nurses, assistants, anesthesiologists and other medical professionals while performing surgery, they must be great team players and be able to recognize everyone's contribution to a successful operation. Because surgeons need help from other professionals to complete surgery, they must have great communication skills to facilitate a smooth operation.
They should be able to talk to their team openly and professionally. As with any other medical field, not everything in an operation always goes according to plan.
Plastic surgeons should be able to solve problems quickly and effectively to prevent putting the lives of their patients at serious risk. These skills help surgeons get through grueling operations. Surgery usually takes around five to six hours to complete, so plastic surgeons must be able to stay focused throughout to avoid making fatal mistakes.
For employed surgeons, this figure includes salary, bonuses and profit-sharing. For private practices with partners, this figure represents income after deductions for taxes and business expenses. The most popular cosmetic surgeries were breast augmentations, liposuctions, eyelid surgeries, nose reshapings and facelifts.
Plastic surgeons also performed 5. The largest number, 4. These were followed by laceration repairs, maxillofacial surgeries, scar revisions and hand surgeries. James Woodruff has been a management consultant to more than 1, small businesses. As a senior management consultant and owner, he used his technical expertise to conduct an analysis of a company's operational, financial and business management issues.
James has been writing business and finance related topics for work. Active study—practice that includes taking the time to learn why you got a given question wrong, creating quizzes for yourself, and so on—is key to keeping yourself engaged in the process.
Lastly, many students with heavy science backgrounds find the Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills CARS section quite hard, so going over CARS strategy will help you implement strategies that can address the uniqueness of this section. Make sure to check out the best medical schools for surgery. Get a sense of how competitive your GPA and MCAT scores will be and find out what qualities they value in applicants to help steer your personal statement and, to a limited extent, your letters of recommendation.
This covers your identifying information, schools attended, and basic biographical information like name, date of birth, citizenship, and so on. This covers the basics like dates of attendance, courses taken, and grades, including overall GPA.
Each school has slightly different guidelines for these—some schools prefer a specific mix of individually-written letters, and others prefer a committee letter written collective by a group of faculty. It covers the relevant information not included on your transcript, including research projects, publications, extracurricular activities, clinical experience, shadowing, volunteering, and much more. The AMCAS application includes room for up to 15 entries in this section, and you can identify 3 of these as the most meaningful.
The most important aspect of your personal statement is to be honest and not lapse into marketing yourself or your skills. Your other application materials can attest to your academic performance and skills, but the personal statement is where you provide the context and narrative that fleshes out those details.
Most medical schools function on a two-application system, meaning they will assess your AMCAS materials and then, pending a positive assessment, send you a secondary application which includes prompts for a secondary essay.
The second of your three big educational phases begins with matriculating to medical school. Most medical schools are structured around a 4-year curriculum that gradually shifts from coursework into full-time clinical work. These core clerkships vary from school to school, but their focus is on developing clinical knowledge and skills through limited patient interactions under detailed supervision.
Clerkships are somewhat similar to shadowing, but a step up in terms of activity and responsibility. Coursework in medical school will cover a great deal of science, but geared toward its use in medical practice to a greater extent. Expect coursework in anatomy, biochemistry, radiology, microbiology, and pharmacology among much else. Tests the understanding and application of basic scientific concepts to the practice of medicine.
The Step-1 is a 1-day exam divided into 7 blocks, and administered over the course of 8 hours. The Step-1 is typically taken toward the end of the second year of medical school. The Step-2 CK has added emphasis on health promotion and disease prevention.
Step-2 is typically taken in the fourth year of medical school, usually in the first half of the year. The Step-3 is typically taken during the first year of a residency program. As noted, only the Step-1 and Step-2 exams are taken during medical school, whereas the Step-3 is taken either after graduating and entering into general practice or into the first year of residency.
This is precisely your next step on the road to becoming a Plastic Surgeon. Getting into medical school is not easy. We can help! In addition to your medical school transcripts and residency personal statement , your ERAS application will also require:. Your Residency CV covers your experience and training in a concentrated format.
It showcases your significant academic and extracurricular achievements, and allows you to briefly describe your clinical experiences, publications, and research projects in which you participated throughout medical school.
It utilizes bullet points rather than complete sentences, and therefore is a test of your ability to succinctly summarize your path to plastic surgery residency.
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