Plastic surgery is one the most competitive residency programs. Data on match trends for plastic surgery residencies and traits of successful applicants are necessary for individuals applying into this highly desirable specialty.
Analyze recent trends in the independent and integrated match as well as to describe attributes of successful applicants.
Data from National Resident Matching Program and San Francisco Match Program for 2007 to 2014 were compiled and analyzed. Statistical analysis and figure creation were performed using the R software package. For bivariate associations, χ or Fisher's exact test was used.
The number of available integrated plastic surgery positions through National Resident Matching Program has increased since 2007, whereas the number of independent residencies offered through the SF Match has steadily decreased. The average Step 2 scores, The number of research presentations, publications, abstracts, and the percent of students ranking plastic surgery only have increased. In a break from previous trends, percent of applicants with Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) membership and mean Step 1 board scores decreased. United States medical school applicants who matched were more likely to be AOA members and graduates from a top 40 medical school. There was no significant association between having an additional academic degree and successfully matching into integrated plastic surgery.
Integrated plastic surgery residency programs continue to be highly competitive, with overall increasing research experience, but slightly lower Step 1 scores and AOA membership than that in previous years. If the trend of decreasing independent and increasing integrated positions continues, the applicant only interested in plastic surgery may find the integrated pathway a more feasible option.
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 1. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 31 October 2015.
All research outputs
#20,657,128
of 25,374,917 outputs
Outputs from Annals of Plastic Surgery
#1,848
of 3,909 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#215,832
of 294,812 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Annals of Plastic Surgery
#27
of 67 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,374,917 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 10th percentile – i.e., 10% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 3,909 research outputs from this source. They receive a mean Attention Score of 2.9. This one is in the 21st percentile – i.e., 21% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 294,812 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one is in the 14th percentile – i.e., 14% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.
We're also able to compare this research output to 67 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one is in the 5th percentile – i.e., 5% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.
